Christopher Kirchhoff
Founder
Pentagon’s Silicon Valley Office
Fireside Chat with DJ Patil
AI in government
Fireside Chat Summary:
Join two of the most influential voices at the intersection of technology, policy, and national security for a rare fireside chat. DJ Patil, the first U.S. Chief Data Scientist and a pioneer in bringing data science to the forefront of government and industry, sits down with Christopher Kirchhoff, former National Security Council Director and co-founder of the Pentagon’s Silicon Valley office, the Defense Innovation Unit.
Together, they’ll explore how AI and data are reshaping not just industries, but entire nations. Expect an engaging conversation on the future of AI in government, defense, and society—and the challenges of governing technologies that evolve faster than policy.
About | Christopher Kirchhoff
Christopher Kirchhoff is an expert in emerging technology, artificial intelligence, and the future of war. He helped found the Pentagon Silicon Valley’s office, which piloted flying cars and microsatellites in military missions and created a new acquisition pathway for start-ups now responsible for $80 billion dollars of technology acquisition by the Department of Defense.
Kirchhoff chronicles the story of the Defense Innovation Unit in his book Unit X: How the Pentagon and Silicon Valley are Transforming the Future of War, named by the Financial Times as one of six “best business books of 2024.”
Dr. Kirchhoff is presently Head of Applied AI Strategy and Global Security at Scale AI, a $29 billion AI startup founded by Alexandr Wang. He previously worked for Anthropic and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
Serving across three Presidential Administrations, Kirchhoff was the National Security Council’s Director for Strategic Planning, the senior civilian aide to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and an advisor to the Counselor to the President in the White House Chief of Staff’s office.
A graduate of Harvard College, he holds a doctorate in politics from Cambridge University, where he was a Gates Scholar. Kirchhoff has been awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Service and the Civilian Service Medal for hazardous duty in Iraq.
From 2011–2014, he was the highest-ranking openly gay advisor in the U.S. Department of Defense.