Project Maven: A Marine Colonel, His Team, and the Dawn of AI Warfare

by Katrina Manson

The dramatic story of the secretive decade-long Pentagon campaign to bring AI-powered targeting systems onto the battlefield.

In 2017, a small crew gathered in a windowless Pentagon room to put AI at the heart of how America makes war. Led by a Marine Corps colonel haunted by the deaths of US troops and prospect of AI-enhanced rivals, the Project Maven team raced to send AI into combat, igniting controversy and forever changing the US military. Summoning the mayhem of a tech startup, the group wrestled Pentagon bureaucrats and each other, enlisted an initially reluctant Silicon Valley, and convinced US forces to deploy little-tested AI systems in hot wars. Maven fielded algorithms to identify targets at speed and scale, developed AI-infused command systems, and learned where AI fails. Today, its lessons are folded into developing autonomous technology set to be on the frontlines of future war. Based on more than 200 interviews with Project Maven insiders and opponents, this compelling narrative explains how AI warfare, once the stuff of apocalyptic science fiction, has become a reality

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Military Fiction, Science, War

Audible Audio

Published March 24, 2026

About the author

Katrina Manson is an award–winning Bloomberg reporter who covers cyber, emerging tech, and national security. Her investigations exposed details of the US military’s AI use and US–China rivalry. She was previously the Financial Times US foreign policy and defense correspondent.

Reviews

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished Project Maven and immediately bought several extra copies to give to friends. That’s how strongly I feel about it.

This is a meaty, high-stakes story, but Manson makes it remarkably accessible. She expertly sets the scene and chronicles the journey of a small, scrappy group of data-driven outsiders tasked with solving a battlefield problem of enormous consequence. What could have been dry or overly technical instead reads with urgency and momentum.

It’s clear how deeply reported this book is. Years of research show up not just in the facts, but in the texture - how vividly each individual involved in Project Maven is drawn. The characterization is one of the book’s greatest strengths; these aren’t abstract operators, but real people navigating ambiguity, pressure, and ethical gray zones.

At the center is Drew Cukor - a figure you may find inspiring, unsettling, or both. As the driving force behind Maven, he leads a high-stakes effort to build an AI-enabled system capable of transforming modern warfare. Manson resists caricature and instead presents him as a complex, relentlessly driven leader pursuing what he sees as a necessary evolution in military capability.

What lingered with me most after finishing the book wasn’t just what Maven achieved, but what it might unleash.

Could a small team of pioneers, led by someone as determined as Cukor, create a system so efficient at identifying and neutralizing threats that it accelerates us toward something far more dangerous, an era of uncontrollable algorithmic escalation? In removing the slower, more deliberate human layer to save lives and better protect innocent civilians, are we building a shield for humanity, or engineering a Schlimmbesserung, an improvement that ultimately makes things worse?

The question feels especially urgent given emerging research suggesting that advanced AI systems, when placed in simulated conflict scenarios, can display a measurable bias toward escalatory, even catastrophic-decisions under pressure.

Is this the future we’re building toward?

This book doesn’t offer easy answers, but it forces you to confront the paradoxical question. And that alone makes it essential reading.

[Kate Devine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Project Maven is the story of a secret decade-long military project of mass surveillance and autonomous optimization of “kill chains” spearheaded by US Marine, Drew Cukor.
Katrina Mason delivers a masterclass in investigative reporting on the accuracy of AI weaponry and the ethics of autonomous warfare. Mason’s reporting provides deeper insight into the partnership between Silicon Valley and the US military. She provides evidence of military AI being deployed in wars abroad and to America’s own citizens (shout out the imperial boomerang!) on a tremendous scale dubiously matched by Big Tech’s invasion into politics. Mason’s critique is most definitely acute, but I appreciate how she approaches these architects of AI warfare with striking empathy. Although these men are quoted speaking about geopolitical strategy in ways I find to be devoid of humanity, Mason makes clear their intentions behind Project Maven were altruistic; these men felt it their duty to stop any more soldiers dying like so many of their friends did- as a byproduct of failures in American military technology. Like many cautionary tales, Project Maven’s story begins with a group of people eager to create something for the good of society, only for the creation to turn far more sinister when money, power, greed, and in America’s case, Alex Karp, are added to the mix. In the least fear monger way possible, I think everyone should read this book!

[Lauren Elyse · Rating 4 out of 5]

BAHAHAHAHAHA Katrina Manson you're brilliant.
This book was the final straw in me realizing I want absolutely nothing to do with the world of security and defence anymore!

Somewhat an exposé (as much as it can be without anyone losing their jobs or being disappeared), somewhat a mystifying character study, and part cultural study on new big tech culture.

There's a vast gender gap in the AI resistance space, especially in the realm of security. I can understand women's (im using 'women' as a blanket and an inclusive term here) hesitancy to embrace AI in other contexts such as in communications, education, advertising, general surveillance etc, but I would love to talk to people about what specifically it is in the world of defence which creates a gendered hesitancy.

We have three copies of this book at work right now, and I'm waiting for my favourite customer to come in again so I can recommend it to him.

[Arthur Auskern · Rating 5 out of 5]

К счастью для всех нас, в богоспасаемом краю духовных скреп перевод этой книги не опубликуют никогда

[Darren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Authors need to start writing with the readers in mind. This is a very interesting topic that was bogged down in the minutiae.

[Mike Saliba · Rating 5 out of 5]

AI in the 60s

Project Maven brings back some memories. Our small scientific software company was under contract with a major defense contractor in Orlando Florida. The task was to support development of a helicopter borne system to recognize tanks and other large targets using IR imagery.
A hybrid analog-digital computer provided the speed required for the helo to rise, take an IR picture, analyze the scene and then fire or not and then descend to safety. It was a very interesting job.
Later, we were the prime contractor to provide the US Air Force with a complete algorithm development system at Eglin AFB in Florida.

[Patrick J Balcazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

New Tech are we up for it.

Good review of the growth of how to use algorithms and AI tech for warfare. Not as clean as we think.
I find the lack of hubris very interesting as the world moves forward with technology. The author presents this as we see how the AI tech unfolds in the Middle Esat.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting. I was hoping to learn more about the use of AI in defense, especially how it relates to current events.

[♡Heather✩Brown♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

#ad much love for my finished copy @wwnorton

Project Maven

Available: March 24, 2026

I’m sure some of you have heard the rumblings of AI robot killers designed for war. Our future is coming at us straight from a sci-fi horror movie, only it’s not fiction. It’s here. And it is only growing in every branch of the military - here and abroad. It. Is. Coming. It. Is. Here.

This book tells the story about how we got here and where we are going. It’s a crucial read. An alarming read. It asks important questions and analyzes what future wars might look like.

Taken from hundreds of interviews, documents, and more Katrina Mandon brings a straight-forward, well researched, investigative book packed with information that may shock you. It goes beyond mass surveillance.

Those for it say it means less loss of life.
Those against say it could mean more mass deaths.

Project Maven is a timely book that’s being released at exactly the right time. As the Trump administration continues to pour money into AI advancement in the military, along with autonomy, and the UN pushes for a ban on killer robots, Manson gives clear and crucial information within the AI debate. It’s an informative read.

Manson gives us the facts while keeping her personal feelings out of it. Both sides are given space and are explored equally. It’s a fascinating read. But also kind of terrifying because we know they’re still working on this and it will only get worse - in every aspect of life.

It can be used as a tool and do good work. But what the founder had in mind when he first started his crusade for AI technology in warfare, isn’t where things are now headed. It’s out of his hands now anyways.

Who ever thought that Google, Meta, and other companies would ever have their hands in war. It’s kind of insane to think about.

Final Thoughts:
They’ve already admitted AI lies on purpose - so let’s use it for wars .. algorithms deciding who dies and who lives. Sounds great ……… GOD. HELP. US. ALL.


“this book investigates whether Al will improve accuracy and save lives or if a fundamentally unreliable black-box technology will unleash mistakes and atrocities at scale.”

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good journalistic report about how a diplomatic maverick colonel Drew Cukor single-handedly see through Project Maven, an AI warfare tooling, to its wide acceptance within the military, overcoming resistance from traditional military mindset, overcoming doubts due to the incompetence during the fledgling stage of the project. That sounds like a typical heroic story without mentioning some nuances revealed.

First, the motivational speech requires an arch enemy, fake it if must.

Second, the Maven AI tooling requires war field data that only real battle grounds can provide. Naturally, battle ground in Afghanistan became opportunities for Maven's AI training, innocent peasants, women and children in Afghanistan paid the price when AI detection made mistakes or when human operators made mistakes. When news about bombing civilians broke out repeatedly, what Maven project leaders cared about most is reputation, while shrug off the civilian damage as a must price to pay for the AI technology. To be fair, killer instinct is part of strong man nature through out human history, but with AI warfare endlessly amplifies the killing capability partly by technology and partly by separating killers from the killed, peace for plain earthlings look further remote from now on.

The use of Maven technology in Ukraine-Russia war sounds more justified because US is helping an invaded country defending itself. At the same time, Maven gained precious snow field battle ground data for training to sharpen itself. Enemies without the privilege to participate in wars are in disadvantage.

Reports like this inevitably echo the old philosophical and religious debate about good and evil. Must the good build a stronghold through evil means in order to deter evil, imagined or real? Who is evil? What is good?

[Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike The Philosopher in the Valley, Project Maven has an index. If you want to know what Andrew Ng—"a computer scientist who argued for the use of AI chips (GPUs) in deep learning"—had to do with the development of autonomous killing platforms, turn to page 102. Not much, it seems, but that in itself is a useful insight. Colonel Drew Cukor—the father of Project Maven and the hero of this story—briefly tried to court Ng’s research team, Google Brain, around 2016. It didn't work out, but by exploring these avenues and dead ends, Manson puts the development of "algorithmic warfare" into context.

I think Cukor’s primary achievement was staying focused on the most meaningful AI research as it was occurring—despite not having an advanced CS degree—while having the audacity to enlist elite experts and pit them against each other in "bake-offs" and prototyping sprints. Some of the details lean toward minutiae, but they add up to an interesting depiction of modern military R&D.

Manson’s research strikes gold several times. In Chapter 13, she recounts an intense experience sitting in on a board meeting led (and then abandoned) by Alex Karp. Later she describes a bizarrely photoshopped group picture presented to Cukor at his retirement party. In it, Colin Carroll—founder of the Atropos Group (as in the Greek Fate, or atrophy)—is airbrushed out. Carroll’s philosophy: "he wanted to cut the human pilot out of the loop" (p. 260).

I suspect Manson identifies with Colonel Michael Kurilla, quoting his 2015 speech: "I'm often reminded that our American society places the wrong people on a pedestal" (p. 225). DoD personnel and the enlisted are seldom glamorized in modern cinema; more often they are caricatured, like Colonel Steven Lockjaw in One Battle after Another. We don't seem to give credit where it's due—though, on the other hand, a $1T budget could be the very definition of "due credit."

Alex Karp can sermonize that "Silicon Valley owes a moral debt to the country that made its rise possible" because of the underlying sense that those in military service are owed more. Reading this, I felt the urge to revisit The Guns of August, which I remember as being definitive on these moral questions. Manson explains how the invention of the tin can contributed to the unbearable nature of WWI trench warfare.

I highlighted the hell out of this book. I was impressed to see Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! patiently interview Manson for over 20 minutes. There was no knee-jerk reaction to the content—just a recognition of good journalism.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars for "Project Maven: A Marine Colonel, His Team, and the Dawn of AI Warfare" by Katrina Manson. I believe this to be one of the most important books published this year (2026). Countries (especially the U.S.) are rushing headlong towards incorporating artificial intelligence into their war fighting capabilities. This capability could ultimately wind up being as dangerous to mankind as nuclear weapons. To me, it's as scary as anything we face. At the rate of improvement, growth, and escalation; I believe it will be very hard to control. We've recently seen how easy it is to use drones to hunt "bad actors" (terrorists, drug runners, etc.) and destroy them with no thought to judicial review, etc. The next step is to unleash death and destruction with no human intervention at all. A horrifying thought, but we are at this threshold now.
This is a well thought out and written book. Manson does a good job taking us into the U.S. military's processes and mind set. the only negative for me was too much time spent on office politics.
Highly recommended!

[John Vandike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to this book, because I was genuinely curious what the Defense Department is doing with AI and machine learning. Perhaps I should not have gone on with expectations: specifically that the book might tend towards a more technical description of the evolution of AI as used by the Pentagon. But, the story the book tells is really more a narrative of the people that drove the stodgy defense bureaucracy and the frontline troops to accept and utilize AI alongside the story of the foundations and growth of companies like Palantir and Anduril.

So, if you are interested in descriptions of the way that Alex Karp (Palantir) behaves and the kinds of personalities that work in the DoD...this book is for you. If you are interested in how and what the DoD is doing with AI, you are basically told "it's pretty good for putting boxes around things in videos and identifying them...the operators like it now..."

[Jordi Lippe-McGraw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Project Maven is one of those books that makes you feel like you've been given access to a room you weren't supposed to know existed.

The story centers on a small Pentagon team that set out in 2017 to wire AI into the machinery of American warfare, led by Marine Corps colonel Drew Cukor: a compelling figure Manson treats with fairness but not softness. He believed this technology was coming whether the U.S. prepared for it or not, and the book takes that conviction seriously while never letting it off the hook.

You don't need any background in AI or military strategy to follow this. Manson writes for people who are curious. And given everything happening right now with AI and warfare, it's about as timely as a book can get.

[Rob Moritz]

Very interesting readregarding the development of AI into the battlefield. About a driven early-adopter Marine Corp. Colonel who pioneered the introduction of AI into the battlefield: the challenges, set backs and successes of AI onto the battlefield. From their it discusses the use of AI in other realms of military conflict as well as the future expectations and ethical questions regarding AI.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good book that guides the reader through the short history of Project Maven/Maven Smart Systems. Gives the reader an idea of the inherent bureaucratic turbulence in the acquisition process, the trial-and-error (often deadly) use of AI in combat operations, and the outlook for AI use in warfare.

[Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an exhaustive analysis and review of the American military development and use of AI in contemporary warfare and includes an in depth review of such as Palantir which appears to be fundamental in the development of that Project Maven.

[Jquick99 · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. This was boring and the author kept inserting herself into the story.

I lasted about 3 hours. If I only had a penny for every time Cukor or Palantir was mentioned, I’d be rich. During these 3 hours, this is just a bio of Cukor, so I keep thinking “why doesn’t Cukor write his own biography?”

[Thiago Freitas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A factual counting of the military armada using AI on the U. S. A.

[Ron Nurmi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A look at how AI was introduced into the US military.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent reporting, storytelling, and treatment of the issue. Must read for hawks and doves alike.

[Jonathan Biles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrifying.

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. Read this book (I’m so serious, read it next on your list)
2. Kill Project Maven