Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has appointed SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Anduril founder Palmer Luckey to lead a 120-day Pentagon study on AI and autonomous weapons, raising conflict-of-interest alarms from officials who note both men hold billions in active Defense Department contracts.
Senators Bernie Sanders and Jeff Merkley, alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have introduced the Ban Flock Act, federal legislation to prohibit government use of Flock Safety’s 120,000-camera AI license plate network and defund jurisdictions that refuse to follow suit.
The Department of Homeland Security diverted $20 million in Customs and Border Protection funds to produce and air campaign-style TV ads glorifying President Trump, ads critics say are nearly identical to his 2024 campaign commercials and likely violate federal anti-propaganda laws.