Los Alamos National Laboratory partners with OpenAI to advance national security

Los Alamos National Laboratory has entered a partnership with OpenAI to install its latest o-series models— capable of expert reasoning for a broad span of complex scientific problems—on the Lab’s Venado supercomputer, which uses NVIDIA GH200 Grace Hopper Superchips, to conduct national security research. 

“As threats to the nation become more complex and more pressing, we need new approaches and advanced technologies to preserve America’s security,” said Thom Mason, Laboratory director. “Artificial Intelligence models from OpenAI will allow us to do this more successfully, while also advancing our scientific missions to solve some of the nation’s most important challenges.” 

The Venado machine will be moved to a secure, classified network where it will be a shared resource for researchers from Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, and Sandia National Labs. 

Strengthening strategic partnerships

By strengthening strategic partnerships with technology companies, the Department of Energy and its national laboratories can provide transformative capabilities in science.

Los Alamos has previously collaborated with OpenAI on projects that have improved AI safety and assessed reasoning capabilities of the o1 model. OpenAI models are now regularly used across the national laboratories for hundreds of applications spanning a range that includes energy missions, design of new materials, and development of quantum algorithms. The ability to use these models on a classified system will allow even deeper contributions. 

Sparking a new era of scientific progress

There’s almost no field of science that isn’t being changed by AI, and nearly all of the Laboratory’s missions are using it in some capacity. Researchers at the Lab are using AI to drive advancements in national security, open new scientific frontiers, and reduce threats against the country and the world. 

The national laboratories are uniquely suited to complement industry capabilities to harness AI for public good. An important example of this is the unique, world-leading scientific user facilities at the national laboratories that generate scientific data that is unavailable anywhere else in the world. 

These collaborative efforts will help redefine the foundations of science and technological progress in the United States. Some examples of what can be accomplished include:

• Identifying new approaches to treating and preventing disease
• Achieving a new era of U.S. energy leadership by unlocking the full potential of natural resources and revolutionizing the nation’s energy infrastructure
• Improving U.S. security through improved detection of natural and man-made threats, such as biology and cyber, before they emerge
• Deepening our understanding of the forces that govern the universe, from fundamental mathematics to high-energy physics
• Enhancing cybersecurity and protecting the American power grid
• Accelerating the basic science that underpins U.S. global technological leadership

“AI has sparked a new era of scientific progress,” said Jason Pruet, director of Los Alamos’ National Security AI Office. “With the capabilities from OpenAI on Venado we have a chance to make contributions to the nation that seemed impossible just a few years ago.”