defense secretary in January 2017, he asked Work to remain as deputy in order to complete several tasks, including preparing an amendment for additional funding in fiscal year 2017 and preparing the fiscal year 2018 budget for submittal in May 2017. This may have marked the first time in history when the top three posts at the Pentagon – secretary, deputy secretary, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs – were held by Marines. National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence From 2019 to 2021, Work chaired the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence with Eric Schmidt. Awards and accolades On March 21, 2013, Robert Work was presented with the Navy Distinguished Public Service Medal, the Department of the Navy's highest award for civilians. At a farewell ceremony in the Pentagon's auditorium on January 13, 2017, outgoing Defense Secretary Carter pinned Work with the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Pentagon's highest award for a civilian. In December 2019 Work was presented with the Swedish Royal Order of the Polar Star by defense minister Peter Hultqvist. Boards & Fellowships In October 2017, Work joined the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory as a Senior Fellow. In June 2020, Work joined as Chairman of the Board of SparkCognition Government Systems (SGS). In June 2020, Govini announced the appointment of Work as its. Chairman of the Board. Criticism of Google After retiring as Deputy Defense Secretary, Work in 2018 criticized Google and its employees for, in his view, stepping into a moral hazard for themselves as not continuing Pentagon's artificial intelligence project while helping China's AI technology that could be used against the United States in a conflict. He described Google as hypocritical, given it has opened an AI center in China and said "[a]nything that’s going on in the AI center in China is going to the Chinese government and then will ultimately end up in the hands of the Chinese military. I didn’t see any Google employee saying, ‘Hmm, maybe we shouldn't do that.'" References External links Defense.gov biography for Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work Faculty Profile at the Elliott School of International Affairs CNAS bio 1953 births George Washington University faculty Living people Naval Postgraduate School alumni Obama administration personnel Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni People from Charlotte, North Carolina United States Deputy Secretaries of Defense United States Marine Corps officers United States Under