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.) on Friday 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 already 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 Venezuelan President Nicolas 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.
