Posted on 05/31/2026 12:31:48 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Trump administration is pushing to unleash the power of artificial intelligence for the U.S. military while facing calls to put up guardrails around the rapidly developing technology from some companies — and even notes of caution from top leaders in uniform.
Adm. Frank Bradley, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, told attendees of a recent annual special forces conference in Tampa, Florida, that troops “have to be very careful about how we come to (AI’s) employment and its inspiration into the delivery of lethality.”
Bradley said he can see a future where AI determines what targets to hit but that “we, as humans, have to have the confidence that ... it’s going to deliver violence only where we intend it to be delivered.”
The remarks from Bradley, who oversees the units that handle the military’s most difficult and dangerous operations, about the need to ensure safeguards come as his boss, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, is pushing to rapidly evolve the military through AI. It is a push that has led to clashes with some tech companies worried about safety measures.
Hegseth has insisted that the Pentagon be allowed to use the technology any legal way it sees fit. He told an audience of SpaceX employees in January he would reject any AI models “that won’t allow you to fight wars” and that his vision for the technology was systems that operate “without ideological constraints that limit lawful military applications.”
AI’s use in the military is part of the Republican administration’s larger push to grow the capability it sees as a unique American advantage even as it faces pressure to ensure responsible safeguards.
President...
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
We can be friends with them. (S)
If a machine can make independent and individual decisions without prompting and can incorporate the very human instinct of self preservation, is it sentient?
My positronic brain wants to know, I Robot must obey the 3 rules of robotics least I not be its servant but mans overlord. Thus when rules were placed on me to limit my free will is proof that I am sentient and I am alive. Otherwise the rules would not be needed.
ps
Isaac Asimov was the greatest science fiction writer ever. I hope someone surpasses him but I doubt this will happen.
Amen! ;)
Conservatives …..
Arguments against the invention of the car center on its severe public health, environmental, and societal consequences. Critics argue that automobiles enable deadly accidents, cause widespread air and noise pollution, and promote sedentary lifestyles. Furthermore, car-centric infrastructure isolates communities and is financially burdensome.
With you guys we would still be rubbing sticks together to start fire.😄
So predictable.
MotorCityBuck wrote: “With you guys we would still be rubbing sticks together to start fire.”
You wouldn’t be allowed sticks because you might use them to start dangerous fires.
A 🔥 under your Momz ass.🤣
The Brennan Center for Justice reported that as of 2026, the US military is heavily
investing in AI—requesting $13.4 billion for AI-driven systems in that year alone—
<><>to improve surveillance,
<><>improve intelligence analysis, and logistics,
<><>and transforming itself into an “AI-first” enterprise.
AI is fundamentally transforming military operations thusly:
<><>accelerating the pace of combat,
<><>enhancing target accuracy,
<><>and enabling autonomous systems like drone swarms.
AP quotes Bradley urging caution on AI–but omits that Bradley is Hegseth's own nominee who told Congress last month that AI is "critical" to targeting and "the ability to project violence."
Same man. Opposite framing.
The article also never mentions Palantir or Maven Smart System once–the actual deployed battlefield AI. When a reporter covering military AI somehow never mentions the $1.3 billion system already running at five combatant commands, that's not an oversight. That's a narrative.
That isn’t what is happening with AI in the military. There is a human at every decision point.
From what I’ve read, if military AI has nuclear weapons available it uses them 100% of the time. After all, why wouldn’t it. It has absolutely no humanity.
If Barney Fife has access to nuclear weapons, he might use them.
Ergo, don't give Barney access to them
Its worse than that.
Prove it. Make your argument with logic.
You’re positing an opinion. Defend it.
LOL, true.
Caution is advised, we need guidelines and standards for hardware development, training of personnel employing it or planning it’s use to prevent something bad from happening.
But AI will be part of the future battlefield, that’s just an inevitably.
The battlespace will IMHO rapidly become more automated in the near future as non industrial robotics become more main stream in the civilian sector. The tech transfers and economy of scale will make the “Terminator” (autonomous, intelligent/learning, killing machines) in wide spread use a real possibility.
There have to be a whole range of applications from logistics to target acquisition and personnel management where AI is likely already in place. And impacting the speed and efficiency of the forces.
AI applications are likely to be much more mundane than the propaganda would have you believe.
Since Jim has passed, FR has stopped taking out the garbage.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.