Sen. Elissa Slotkin has introduced legislation aimed at imposing new limits on the Pentagon's use of artificial intelligence, including restrictions on autonomous weapons and nuclear decision-making, The Hill reported Wednesday.
The Michigan Democrat's measure, titled the AI Guardrails Act, would bar the Department of War from deploying fully autonomous weapons systems capable of killing without human authorization. It would also prohibit the use of AI in domestic mass surveillance and in decisions related to launching nuclear weapons.
The proposal marks the latest effort by Democrats to push back on the military's expanding use of artificial intelligence, following a recent dispute between the Pentagon and AI firm Anthropic.
Earlier this month, the War Department severed ties with the company and designated it a supply chain risk, an action typically reserved for entities linked to foreign adversaries.
President Donald Trump also ordered federal civilian agencies to stop using Anthropic's products, escalating tensions between the government and the artificial intelligence developer.
Slotkin's legislation appears to address concerns raised during negotiations between Anthropic and the Pentagon, particularly over limits on mass surveillance and the use of fully autonomous lethal systems.
Those talks reportedly broke down after the Defense Department insisted on maintaining broad authority to use artificial intelligence for "all lawful purposes."
"Congress is behind in putting left and right limits on the use of AI, and the first place to start should be at the Pentagon," Slotkin said in a statement.
She added that "AI is going to shape the future of America's national security and we must win the AI race against China. But to do that, we need action that puts limits on AI in the Department of Defense. This is just common sense."
Slotkin said the bill aligns with the administration's broader artificial intelligence strategy, which calls for aggressive adoption of the technology within the armed forces while ensuring systems remain "secure and reliable."
A fact sheet released by Slotkin's office emphasized that certain military decisions must remain under human control, warning that some command judgments are "too risky and too consequential for machines to decide."
The push for artificial intelligence restrictions is gaining traction among other Democrats, The Hill reported.
California Sen. Adam Schiff said he plans to introduce separate legislation in the coming weeks to establish protections around the use of artificial intelligence in surveillance and warfare. His office is consulting with industry leaders and weighing whether to incorporate the measure into the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act.
In the House, California Rep. Sam Liccardo recently proposed an amendment to the Defense Production Act that would have barred federal agencies from retaliating against technology firms seeking to limit how their products are deployed to reduce risks to Americans. The amendment failed earlier this month along party lines.
Anthropic has since filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, seeking to block its designation as a supply chain risk and arguing the classification is unjustified and damaging to its business.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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