AI Mind Reading, Self-Flying Drones: Trump's CIA Nominee Discloses Clients
John Ratcliffe, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the CIA, has worked for AI companies and defense contractors since his time in government.
Donald Trump’s pick to head the CIA, John Ratcliffe, took a lucrative spin through Washington’s revolving door after his time in the first Trump administration, according to a disclosure with the Senate.
In recent years, Ratcliffe has worked as a consultant and advisor for several defense contractors. Two of the companies make technology for autonomous aircraft, something that the CIA has long used in a covert program for targeted killings. In his Senate questionnaire, Ratcliffe wrote that none of his jobs or business relationships would create a conflict of interest if he’s confirmed as CIA director.
During his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Ratcliffe said the top spy agency would take a more aggressive approach. He said that the CIA would be apolitical and would take a focus on China, something that could appeal to hawkish Democratic lawmakers.
In the past, Trump has attacked intelligence agencies and the “deep state.” Ratcliffe, who was Trump’s director of national intelligence from 2020 to 2021, is very likely to be confirmed.
Ratcliffe’s work with artificial intelligence companies aligns with Trump’s support from defense contractors in Silicon Valley. Palmer Luckey, who founded defense contractor Anduril Industries, and Peter Thiel, who founded Palantir, which works with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on data mining to help arrest migrants, are both Trump supporters. Elon Musk, Trump’s pick for the Department of Government Efficiency, heads SpaceX, which works with a U.S. intelligence agency on surveillance satellites. Trump’s support from this sector suggests a move toward newer defense technology over more established contractors.
From 2023 to present, Ratcliffe has served on the advisory board for Arctop, which claims that it uses AI for a very futuristic purpose. “We interpret brain signals to seamlessly translate thoughts into speech and digital action,” the company says on its website. The company recently received a contract to work with the Air Force to monitor cadets’ brain activity while they are in training.
Latent AI, where Ratcliffe is also on the advisory board, has worked with the Army and Navy with its AI technology. The defense contractor also provides “intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance” for drones and aircraft. It says that its technology allows for faster decision-making. Ratcliffe has worked with them since 2022.
Another AI company Ratcliffe has worked with is Shield AI. In 2022, the company received a $950 million contract from the Air Force to use artificial intelligence to pilot autonomous aircraft, or drones. The company’s Hivemind software flies aircraft on its own, in a way that is, Shield AI claims, “similar to a human pilot.” He was a consultant for the company from 2021 to 2022.
Ratcliffe is a consultant for Perot Jain, an investment firm whose portfolio includes defense companies that contract with the government. He wrote that he has consulted for them since 2022.
He is also on the advisory board for Coherent Logix, which has partnered with the Defense Innovation Unit, a part of the Defense Department focused on emerging commercial technologies. Coherent Logix creates processors for computer systems, including for work in outer space.
Finally, Ratcliffe is a senior advisor to American Global Strategies, LLC, an advisory firm that works with clients in the defense industry. The firm was founded by Robert C. O’Brien, a national security advisor under Trump, and Alex Gray, National Security Council chief of staff under Trump. He has worked in this capacity since 2022.
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