Army general uses AI for decisions; study finds 15% of chats on decision topics
When I saw the headline, an Army general saying he’s using AI to sharpen “decision-making”, it felt like a footnote to something bigger. OpenAI’s latest usage study, released last month, puts a number on it: about 15 percent of work-related ChatGPT chats were about decisions or problem-solving. At the same time a new report notes that at least one senior U.S.
military officer is already pulling large language models into that same kind of work. The details are still thin, but the comment came during a briefing at the Association of …, suggesting the talk is slipping out of research labs and into command rooms. If a high-ranking general is willing to let an AI influence operational judgments, the tool’s place in the chain of command could be growing faster than any formal policy.
Still, we only have a single anecdote and a usage statistic. It’s unclear how the AI is actually integrated, what safeguards are in place, or how the wider defense community feels about it. The story is still unfolding.
Last month, OpenAI published a usage study showing that nearly 15 percent of work-related conversations on ChatGPT had to deal with "making decisions and solving problems." Now comes word that at least one high-level member of the US military is using LLMs for the same purpose. At the Association of the US Army Conference in Washington, DC, this week, Maj. William "Hank" Taylor reportedly said that "Chat and I are really close lately," using a distressingly familiar diminutive nickname to refer to an unspecified AI chatbot.
"AI is one thing that, as a commander, it’s been very, very interesting for me." Military-focused news site DefenseScoop reports that Taylor told a roundtable group of reporters that he and the Eighth Army he commands out of South Korea are "regularly using" AI to modernize their predictive analysis for logistical planning and operational purposes. That is helpful for paperwork tasks like "just being able to write our weekly reports and things," Taylor said, but it also aids in informing their overall direction. “One of the things that recently I’ve been personally working on with my soldiers is decision-making—individual decision-making," Taylor said.
"And how [we make decisions] in our own individual life, when we make decisions, it’s important.
OpenAI’s latest usage study shows almost 15 percent of work-related ChatGPT chats are about decision-making and problem-solving. That same thread showed up at the Association of the US Army Conference, where Maj. Gen.
William “Hank” Taylor told the crowd, “Chat and I are really close lately.” It sounds like a senior officer is actually leaning on large-language models for the kinds of choices the study flagged. The report, however, stays quiet on how the Army is wiring the tech in, what checks exist, or how it judges the quality of AI advice. Without those details, it’s hard to gauge the real impact.
Is the general’s habit a sign that the whole service is shifting, or just a one-off test? Probably the answer will hinge on how transparent the Army becomes about its protocols and whether decision outcomes shift in a measurable way. For now, we can say AI is entering high-level military discussions, but how much it matters is still up in the air.
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Common Questions Answered
What percentage of work-related ChatGPT conversations involved decision-making according to OpenAI's study?
OpenAI's usage study found that nearly 15 percent of work-related ChatGPT conversations were specifically about making decisions and solving problems. This statistic highlights a significant real-world application of large language models in professional decision-support contexts.
Which U.S. military officer reported using an LLM like ChatGPT for decision-making purposes?
Major General William 'Hank' Taylor, a senior U.S. Army officer, reportedly stated he was using a large language model for decision-making at the Association of the US Army Conference. His comment, 'Chat and I are really close lately,' directly indicates his personal use of AI for this purpose.
Where was the military usage of AI for decisions publicly discussed?
The military application of AI for decision-making was discussed at the Association of the US Army Conference held in Washington, DC. It was at this event that Major General Taylor made his remarks about using an LLM, connecting the military use case to the broader trend identified by OpenAI.