The RIL Statement on Military Use of AI
AI is becoming foundational infrastructure. Like the internet. Like electricity. Like GPS.
Once a technology reaches that level, it becomes dual-use. That’s reality.
If you don’t think AI has reached a unrelenting level of ubiquity in our society you haven’t been paying attention.
The question isn’t whether the technology can be used in military contexts. The question is who takes responsibility for how it’s used.
At the Responsible Innovation Lab, our view is simple:
Responsibility doesn’t belong only to the model providers.It belongs to the people and institutions building with these systems.
We use leading AI platforms, including OpenAI, as part of our research and development ecosystem. But tools don’t define our values. Our governance does.
Everything we build is guided by the RIL Charter and the INNOVATE framework, which means:
• ethics before speed• transparency over black boxes• guardrails against misuse• protecting human dignity and privacy• and maintaining independence from any single platform
Powerful technologies will always create difficult questions.
Our job isn’t to avoid those questions.
Our job is to help shape how these technologies are used so innovation remains principled, responsible, and sustainable.
Because in the end, the future of AI won’t just be determined by the models.
It will be determined by the integrity of the people guiding them. Not the specific application.
We are primarily an OpenAI lab at the time of this writing.
OpenAI’s Agreement with the Department of War
https://openai.com/index/our-agreement-with-the-department-of-war/
