Rebellion Defense is a software development firm that specializes in advancing artificial intelligence (AI) technology for the U.S. national defense.
Former Google CEO and left-of-center philanthropist Eric Schmidt sits on its board. 1 2
Background
Rebellion Defense was founded by Chris Lynch, Nicole Camarillo, and Oliver Lewis to create software technology for national defense purposes. 3
The firm claims to follow liberal ethical principles in its pursuit of advancing artificial intelligence technology. It purports to work on projects for U.S. national defense for the purpose of protecting “democracy, humanitarian values, and the rule of law” and claims to subscribe to the U.S. Department of Defense’s AI ethical principles. 4
Activities
As of January 2023, Rebellion Defense’s main software products were Rebellion Iris, Rebellion Dispatch, and Rebellion Nova. Rebellion Iris is software for military analysts operators to detect threats and quickly understand voluminous intelligence data. The firm describes it as a worthy tool for deciphering ever-more complex data collections and thus highly important for developing the capacities of intelligence operations. 5
Rebellion Dispatch uses AI technology to quickly recommend best courses of action by calculating mission objectives, available assets, and environmental factors. It rates plans by their forecasted likelihood to optimally fulfill goals and automatically assigns tasks to relevant assets. 6
Rebellion Nova analyzes the destructive capabilities of adversaries and compares it to the strengths and weaknesses of one’s home nation’s national defense to alert users about their own vulnerabilities. It simulates adversary behavior and tests militaries’ resolve against hypothetical attacks. 7
Biden Administration and Eric Schmidt
In December 2022, Politico published an exclusive report on former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and his financial connections to the Biden administration. Specifically, it reported that Schmidt, who had allegedly been seeking to have influence over the U.S. government’s science policy and the White House’s in particular, was supplying funds to the Biden White House via a Federation of American Scientists (FAS) fellowship program to pay for the salaries of more than twenty officials on its payroll involved in science policy. Schmidt’s aim, the article alleged, was to become one of the main players in American federal research and investment in artificial intelligence technology, despite pro-privacy activists and tech skeptics sounding the alarm on the field. 8
In that piece, Rebellion Defense was mentioned, as Schmidt sits on its board. Further, Schmidt has explicitly written on the importance of artificial intelligence and its relevance to U.S. foreign policy and power (notably in his 2021 book The Age of AI: And Our Human Future co-written with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and MIT’s Dean of Computing Daniel Huttenlocher), and Rebellion Defense has been given several contracts by the Biden administration’s Pentagon leadership. Rebellion Defense’s other connections to President Joe Biden include two of its officials having served on his transition team, and Rebellion Defense’s decision to hire White House director of technology David Recordon as its chief technology director. 9
Leadership
Rebellion Defense was founded by Chris Lynch, Nicole Camarillo, and Oliver Lewis. 10
Chris Lynch, who as of 2023 was serving as Rebellion Defense’s CEO, is a software entrepreneur and venture capitalist from Seattle, Washington. He is a fellow at Harvard University Kennedy School’s Belfer Center, as well as a lecturer at Stanford University’s computer science department. He founded and directed Defense Digital Service, a technology firm that worked closely with the U.S. Department of Defense. 11
Nicole Camarillo is an attorney and consultant. She was previously a chief strategist for the U.S. Army Cyber Command and has worked on national security technology throughout her career. She views her work mission as one of updating military technology as well as driving progressive initiatives despite “policy obstacles.” 12
Oliver Lewis is a policy director from the United Kingdom. He was previously the deputy director of the U.K Government Digital Service which helped multiple U.K. government offices get up to speed with recent technologies. He worked for Improbable, a startup that designs cloud computing software for governments. He is a research fellow at University of Oxford’s Changing Character of War Centre and a senior visiting fellow at the University of Southern California. 13
Former Google CEO and left-of-center philanthropist Eric Schmidt sits on its board. 14 15
References
- Thompson, Alex. “Ex-Google boss helps fund dozens of jobs in Biden’s administration.” Politico, December 22, 2022. Accessed January 14, 2023. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/22/eric-schmidt-joe-biden-administration-00074160.
- “Meet our Team.” Rebellion Defense. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://rebelliondefense.com/company/.
- “Meet our Team.” Rebellion Defense. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://rebelliondefense.com/company/.
- “Our Values.” Rebellion Defense. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://rebelliondefense.com/ethical-principles.
- “Rebellion Iris.” Rebellion Defense. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://rebelliondefense.com/products/iris.
- “Rebellion Dispatch.” Rebellion Defense. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://rebelliondefense.com/products/dispatch
- “Rebellion Nova.” Rebellion Defense. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://rebelliondefense.com/products/nova.
- Thompson, Alex. “Ex-Google boss helps fund dozens of jobs in Biden’s administration.” Politico. December 22, 2022. Accessed January 14, 2023. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/22/eric-schmidt-joe-biden-administration-00074160.
- Thompson, Alex. “Ex-Google boss helps fund dozens of jobs in Biden’s administration.” Politico. December 22, 2022. Accessed January 14, 2023. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/22/eric-schmidt-joe-biden-administration-00074160.
- “Meet our Team.” Rebellion Defense. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://rebelliondefense.com/company/.
- “Meet our Team.” Rebellion Defense. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://rebelliondefense.com/company/.
- “Meet our Team.” Rebellion Defense. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://rebelliondefense.com/company/.
- “Meet our Team.” Rebellion Defense. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://rebelliondefense.com/company/.
- Thompson, Alex. “Ex-Google boss helps fund dozens of jobs in Biden’s administration.” Politico. December 22, 2022. Accessed January 14, 2023. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/22/eric-schmidt-joe-biden-administration-00074160.
- “Meet our Team.” Rebellion Defense. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://rebelliondefense.com/company/