US President Donald Trump has declared that he will not allow artificial intelligence to make decisions to strike human targets.
“I will not allow that“, he said in an interview with Time magazine in response to a question on the subject. “I respect AI, but the president makes those decisions as long as it is competent.“
In March, the head of the US Special Operations Command, Frank Bradley, said that the US military does not allow AI to make decisions on its own to strike human targets.
Artificial intelligence in the US military is undergoing a major transformation, driven by new contracts with leading technology companies and direct orders from the administration of President Donald Trump.
In March 2026, OpenAI reached an agreement with the Pentagon to implement its models in classified military systems. This came immediately after President Trump imposed a ban on federal agencies from using Anthropic's technology.
The Pentagon has officially adopted the Palantir Maven system as a long-term major US combat program. It is used to process vast amounts of data from sensors and satellites to identify targets on the battlefield.
The Grok AI model from the company xAI has also gained access to secret military networks, increasing the influence of Elon Musk's companies in the defense sector.
In February 2026, it was reported that the US military used an AI assistant in the operation to capture Nicolas Maduro.
The army has invested over $200 million in generative AI technologies to automate administrative tasks, logistics and intelligence analysis.
Controversy continues over the use of AI in autonomous weapons, with companies such as Anthropic clashing with the Pentagon over ethical issues before their ban.
The Trump administration has actively promoted the use of AI to maintain technological superiority over China, while refusing to commit to international rules for limiting AI in war.