June 30, 2026, 17:54 GMT | Comment
Agentic AI programs that can plan, reason, and act out a series of tasks to achieve more complex goals, and the data centers that provide the massive computing power required to train and run the complex models, are a top concern for national security experts at the US Committee on Foreign Investment in the US.
Agentic AI and the data centers that help the development of faster, more human-like decision making are a top concern for national security experts at the US Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, or
CFIUS.
CFIUS’ greatest scrutiny is being placed on the autonomous agentic AI programs that can plan, reason, and act out tasks to achieve more complex goals, said Mark Skerry, a partner at Simpson Thacher who advises clients on CFIUS matters.
Aerospace and national defense industries are particular targets of scrutiny.
“I think we're seeing this renaissance across the defense industry with large amounts of investment in startups and technologies that are focused on changing the way that the battlefield operates,” Skerry said. “A lot of that is driven by the changes that have happened in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and stemming from that, a lot of investment in the aerospace and defense sector from the
European Union.”
The Ukrainian army has pushed back against Russian bombardment with smaller, cheaper drones using advanced technology and artificial intelligence in ways that might change the way countries fight for generations to come.
But the sudden development of these new technologies comes with security risks. The supply chains for the new weapons can be susceptible to malware, algorithm manipulation and other threats.
Until recently, most US research and development defense spending was targeted at the big prime contractors such as
Northrop Grumman,
Lockheed Martin and Boeing, which develop large, expensive weapons platforms. But that is changing almost overnight. Today, a host of startup companies are developing cheaper, more easily deployed AI-enabled technologies specifically to support the Pentagon, including everything from self-guided drones to cybersecurity.
And when the Defense Department uses AI to plan complicated logistics such as getting rations, fuel and weapons to fighting units, or analyzing how an enemy might plan a counter-offensive, “All of those types of technologies and logistics, with the advent of AI, are becoming increasingly sensitive and important,” Skerry said.
That makes mergers and other forms of foreign investment in the US of special interest to CFIUS, an interagency committee authorized to review foreign investments in domestic businesses and to identify and mitigate national security risks.
CFIUS is monitoring AI as it attracts foreign investors.
“There's a huge amount of investment that's pouring into these startups that are really disrupting the way that governments have traditionally engaged in warfare,” Skerry said. “The Pentagon is increasingly aware of changes in the way they will need to source materials and new technologies to stay current.
“So, any kind of foreign investment into the entire supply chain becomes very sensitive for them. Any companies that are supplying other companies that are eventually developing these technologies are increasingly in focus.”
Data centers, the energy-thirsty complexes of servers that enable AI, are another area of concern that is getting a hard look from CFIUS, said Chris Pilkerton, who leads CFIUS as the assistant secretary for investment security at the US Treasury Department.
While speaking at the USA Artificial Intelligence Summit 2026 in Washington, DC this month, Pilkerton noted that AI is quickly being incorporated into almost every product, which makes it difficult to look at it as a standalone technology.
CFIUS must ask, “in biotech, are these models being trained on personal data or things like that [where it] could be utilized in a nefarious way? We’re seeing it from that perspective, but we also see it from a structural perspective,” Pilkerton said.
He said the potential risk is “just organic in the actual [AI] technology, but then there's the actual data centers and the structures associated with that … AI is no different for us ... It's really about, ‘What's the potential weaponization of that,' and what the dual use could be, particularly in the context of perhaps some other technology, like … hypersonics or biotech. It's an area that's obviously very much evolving, but it's top of mind for us, and top of mind [for] our technology team.”
A number of the issues created by AI, however, aren’t novel.
Access to sensitive personal data, for example, or to programs that run critical infrastructure, or software that connects sensitive parts of a company’s internal systems to outside third parties, will be viewed skeptically by CFIUS investigators whether they are associated with AI or not.
One area that could create heightened scrutiny in the coming months is the role AI plays in social media. CFIUS will want to know how AI drives what content the users see on social media platforms. The government will want to ensure AI isn’t programmed to manipulate public opinion, Skerry said.
“Even a slight tweak could change how a broad section of the US population might see, view, or come to understand an issue that could be relevant to national security one day,” Skerry said.
AI, like any new technology, is going to create national security concerns until the government develops expertise in the technology and its uses. The problem for companies and investors is that the uses — and threats — of the technology are far from known.
–With reporting by Mike Swift.
Please email editors@mlex.com to contact the editorial staff regarding this story, or to submit the names of lawyers and advisers.
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