Tech funding trough or ‘war-machine pipeline’? At CMU, defense dollars total billions
Nearly $30 million to explore how artificial intelligence could support national security and defense. More than $13 million to research threat recognition tools that could increase a soldier’s “lethality and survivability.” Almost $2 million for a drone corridor.
These are all contracts and grants that Carnegie Mellon University has received from the U.S. Department of Defense, which oversees the armed forces. The department funds a large portion of the university’s research, committing more than $2.8 billion in awards to CMU since the government’s 2008 fiscal year, federal data shows.
The vast majority of highly selective private research universities received much smaller commitments over that same period. Only the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Johns Hopkins University, both known for their prolific research activity, have eclipsed CMU, with their commitments respectively totaling about $18 billion and $15.5 billion.
The funding has sparked protest among students who believe CMU’s acceptance of defense dollars makes the university complicit in war efforts they morally disagree with. This month, dozens of activists rallied on campus, decrying what they called “the CMU-to-war-machine pipeline.” One organizing group demanded the university cut ties with the U.S. military and its contractors, especially as the war in Gaza continues.
