Vice President JD Vance Tells Air Force Academy Graduates to Keep Human Control Over AI in Warfare

Vice President JD Vance told graduating cadets at the Air Force Academy on Thursday that decisions over life and death in warfare must remain with humans rather than machines. Speaking at the academy's commencement ceremony, Vance said the development of artificial intelligence will change how wars are fought and that the United States must preserve its tradition of waging war justly.

"The thing I worry about the most with AI is how it will change warfare," Vance said. He added that AI has already altered battlefield operations and will continue to do so. Vance urged the new officers to remain "jealous and selfish" about their role as decision makers. "Use technology to make you better, but never submit to it," he said.

Vance referenced a recent document from Pope Leo XIV that cautioned against outsourcing major decisions to digital systems. "I want to endorse that sentiment," he told the graduates. He said moral values require that humans, not algorithms, determine when lethal force is used.

"If the warfare of the future is to live up to the moral values of our ancestors, decisions over life and death must be made by humans and not machines," Vance stated. The vice president, a Marine Corps veteran, framed the guidance as consistent with longstanding American principles on the conduct of war.