Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) introduced legislation to impose new safeguards on the Defense Department's use of artificial intelligence (AI), including limits on domestic surveillance and requirements for human control over lethal decisions.
Schiff Pushes AI Guardrails
On Monday, Schiff announced the proposal in a post on X, arguing that stronger oversight is needed as AI becomes more integrated into military and defense operations.
"There's an urgent need for guardrails around the Defense Department's use of AI, to ensure that it is consistent with our national security and privacy," Schiff wrote.
The California Democrat said his bill would "protect Americans from unlawful domestic surveillance" and "insist that humans make the final decision on the use of force by autonomous weapons systems."
Pentagon AI Clash Over Killer Robots And Military Tech
Earlier, the White House and Pentagon clashed over Anthropic's AI systems, with the Defense Department blacklisting the company over surveillance and autonomous weapons concerns while ordering its removal from military use.
President Donald Trump suggested a possible deal and signaled a more flexible approach to the company's future role in federal AI contracts.
Separately, Palantir Technologies Inc.'s (NASDAQ:PLTR) expansion into defense AI drew criticism from economist Yanis Varoufakis, who warned that "AI-powered killer robots are coming" and argued companies risked prioritizing profit over ethical limits on autonomous warfare.
Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton warned that autonomous weapons could make warfare more likely by reducing human costs that deter conflict, saying traditional war deterrents weaken when "dead robots" replace human casualties.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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