Reference register
Who's Who in AI Warfare
A working register of the operators, architects, theorists and witnesses shaping AI in modern warfare.
A reference register, not a ranking. Entries here are the people we keep coming back to as we cover the field — the officers running the programmes, the executives selling the software, the academics writing the doctrine, the journalists getting it on the record. The list grows when our coverage does.
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architect Palantir Technologies (2003-)
Alex Karp
Co-founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies; outspoken advocate for software in the kill chain.
- defense tech ceo
- data fusion
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architect Swarmer (2023-)
Alexander Fink
Co-founder and US CEO of Swarmer; a veteran of imaging-silicon and camera companies.
- defense tech ceo
- imaging silicon
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architect Meta
Amir Frenkel
A generative-AI engineering leader at Meta and a director of Swarmer.
- ai engineering
- defense tech board
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theorist University of Warwick
Anthony King
Sociologist of war whose fieldwork shows AI changing headquarters more than the battlefield.
- sociology of war
- academic
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theorist White House (2021-2024)
Ben Buchanan
Cyber-and-AI policy scholar who served as the White House's first Special Advisor for Artificial Intelligence.
- ai policy
- cybersecurity
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architect Blackwater (1997-2010)
Erik Prince
Founder of the private-military firm Blackwater; non-executive chairman of Swarmer.
- private military
- defense investor
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operator Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (2018-2020)
Jack Shanahan
First director of the Pentagon's Joint AI Center; previously ran Project Maven.
- command
- military ai
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architect Swarmer (2026-)
Mykhailo Nestor
Chief product officer of Swarmer; former chief product officer of Ukraine's Kyivstar Group.
- defense tech exec
- product leadership
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architect Anduril Industries (2017-)
Palmer Luckey
Founded Anduril Industries to bring Silicon Valley engineering to defence procurement.
- defense tech ceo
- autonomous systems
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theorist Center for a New American Security
Paul Scharre
Former Pentagon policy lead writing the canonical books on autonomous weapons.
- defense policy
- autonomous weapons
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architect US Department of Defense (2014-2017)
Robert Work
Architect of the Pentagon's Third Offset Strategy and the original sponsor of Project Maven.
- doctrine
- civilian leadership
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architect Swarmer (2023-)
Serhii Kupriienko
Co-founder and global CEO of Swarmer, the first Ukrainian defence-tech company to list on the Nasdaq.
- defense tech ceo
- drone swarm
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operator US Army (2003-2008)
Stanley McChrystal
Former JSOC commander who pioneered industrial-scale data-driven targeting in Iraq.
- special operations
- command
Showing 13 people.
For broader figures in AI — researchers, founders, ethicists not specifically focused on warfare — see the Prometheans 100+ register on prometheusroot.com.