The Pentagon Did What?! A.I., Classified Networks, and the Question Nobody Answered | Side Quest Sunday

On Friday May 1st 2026 the Pentagon announced deals with seven of the largest AI companies in the world - OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, SpaceX, and Reflection AI - to integrate their systems into the most classified military networks in existence.The stated goal: an AI-first fighting force.I recorded this the same day it happened. It’s dropping today, Sunday May 3rd because it couldn’t wait until Monday.That’s what Side Quest Sunday is for.Your humble Player 1 ventures off the main quest to examine a topic that couldn’t sit. Today that topic is the Pentagon, seven AI companies, classified networks, one company that got blacklisted for asking a very reasonable question, and the Terminator franchise which I promise is more relevant than it sounds.No tinfoil. No doom. Just the receipts. And a lot of questions the press release didn’t answer.New episodes every Monday and Thursday. Side Quest Sunday drops when it needs to.Got a rabbit hole you want us to go down? Email us at [email protected] join The Lobby our private Facebook community. Search Average Joe Nerdcast-The Lobby on Facebook. Or follow this link 👇https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1RR7kyd4PH/?mibextid=wwXIfrStay gold. Nerd bold.SHOW NOTESAverage Joe Nerdcast | Side Quest Sunday"The Pentagon Did What?! A.I., Classified Networks, and the Question Nobody Answered"The announcement-May 1, 2026:• Washington Post - “Pentagon strikes AI deals for classified military use”• CNN - “Pentagon strikes deals with 7 Big Tech companies after shunning Anthropic”• The Hill - “Pentagon reaches deal with leading AI companies for classified work”• Nextgov/FCW - “Pentagon makes agreements with 7 companies to add AI to classified networks”• Al Jazeera - “Pentagon announces deal with seven AI companies for classified systems”• Official Pentagon press release - war.govThe Anthropic situation:• Las Vegas Sun - “Skynet ambitions are at odds with the Constitution” Feb 18 2026• Lawfare - “Blame the Pentagon, Not AI, for Preventable Targeting Mistakes” April 2026• Digital Strategy AI - “AI Politics in 2026: 7 Crucial Lessons From Pentagon Deals” March 2026The elementary school strike:• Lawfare - March 2026 Iranian elementary school strike - documentedAutonomous weapons / Replicator:• Task & Purpose - “The Pentagon is facing hard decisions about letting AI weapons kill”• Pentagon Replicator program - documentedThe Terminator:• The Terminator (1984) - James Cameron• Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) - James Cameron#Pentagon #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #SideQuestSunday #AverageJoeNerdcast #Podcast #Terminator #Skynet #Military #NationalSecurity