OpenAI Appoints Former Army Secretary Dan Driscoll as National Security Counselor

OpenAI appointed former United States Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to the newly created role of senior counselor for national security modernization.

Driscoll will advise company leadership and external partners on utilizing artificial intelligence for national security and cybersecurity, with a focus on cooperation with allies to advance democratic artificial intelligence use. Driscoll previously served as Secretary of the Army from 2025 until his resignation in August 2026 following reported tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. During his tenure, Driscoll oversaw the launch of the Army's Executive Innovation Corps, which granted military ranks to executives from technology firms including OpenAI, Meta, and Palantir.

The appointment highlights growing ties between artificial intelligence firms and the defense sector, following disputes involving the Pentagon and artificial intelligence providers over classified network integrations. In other updates, OpenAI announced plans to merge ChatGPT and Codex usage limits for premium subscribers starting in December, measuring usage through tokens across shared allowance pools. The company also released research data on its GPT-6 Astra model performance across everyday tasks such as shopping and meal planning.