Exclusive: Bipartisan lawmakers push human oversight of AI weapons
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A bipartisan group of House lawmakers on Friday introduced legislation to ensure humans, not AI or machines, make the final decision when the U.S. military uses lethal force.
Why it matters: Lawmakers in both parties are looking to set legal guardrails for military AI as autonomous weapons play a larger role in modern warfare.
Driving the news: Reps. Don Beyer (D-Va.), Tom Barrett (R-Mich.) and Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) introduced the Human Authority over Autonomous Weapons Act, shared first with Axios.
- The bill would require the Defense Department to ensure any intentionally lethal use of an autonomous or AI-enabled weapon system is subject to "human oversight, approval, or a human-in-the-loop."
- It would also require commanders to verify AI-generated targets using a non-AI source for the first five years after enactment.
- Missile defense systems would be exempt, per the bill text.
The big picture: While the Pentagon has existing policy requiring "appropriate levels of human judgment over the use of force," this bill would put human oversight requirements into federal law.
Flashback: The Pentagon's use of AI in the raid that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this year sparked tensions with Anthropic over the company's red lines around autonomous weapons and mass surveillance.
- A coalition of faith leaders also called on Congress in April to require meaningful human control over AI-enabled weapons.
What they're saying: "No machine should ever be given the power to decide to kill a human being on its own," Beyer said in the press release.
- "We must establish safeguards now to ensure these technologies are used ethically and transparently," Barrett said.
- "This is a common-sense step to help our military keep pace with emerging technologies while upholding our commitments to international humanitarian law and ethics," Jacobs said.
What we're watching: The must-pass annual defense policy bill is the most likely place for any measures or debate over congressional limits on military AI.
