Vice President J.D. Vance on Thursday expressed concern about the use of artificial intelligence in warfare and urged graduating Air Force cadets not to let technology override their judgment.
Subscribe to read this story without ads
Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.
“As AI transforms the battlefield, in some ways positively and in others not, I hope you don’t feel jealous or selfish about your role as a decision-maker in war,” Vance said in his commencement address at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. “Use technology to improve yourself, but never give in to it. you They are masters of war. And not only your mind, but also the heart is the opposite of something artificial.
Vance’s recommendation comes in the same week that Pope Leo XIV released a theological document warning about the unchecked advancement of AI. The vice president praised the Pope’s work on the document in an interview with NBC News and mentioned it in his speech Thursday. Vance, one of the Trump administration’s most ardent AI advocates, also addressed the recent heckling that has descended on commencement speakers who focused on the topic.
“I can’t boo anymore. I’m the vice president of the United States,” Vance joked. “But your fellow Americans are rightly concerned about AI, about how it will affect the labor market, how it will distribute resources, how it has fundamentally changed the way we interact with each other, our social lives. But what worries me most about AI is how it will change warfare.”
Vance, who worked in venture capital before entering politics, has long opposed overregulation of AI and promoted what he sees as its benefits. But polls show voters are concerned about the rise of AI, and Mr. Vance has approached the issue in recent months with more public skepticism. He emphasized, for example, the need for new AI models to ensure that businesses and consumers are protected from cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
“This technology just raises very serious questions about how we interact with each other, what skills we need in our workforce, what kind of wars we fight, and how we fight them,” Vance said Tuesday in response to a question about the Pope’s encyclical on AI. “I think we really need moral leadership to think through these issues, and that’s the best kind of leadership for the church to have.”
Speaking Thursday before about 900 cadets who will graduate and commission as Air Force officers, Vance said that despite all the advances in AI, “one of the things that makes Americans unique, that makes you unique as a warfighter, is that we fight a just war.”
Vance added: “If future wars are to be in line with the moral values of our ancestors, life and death decisions must be made by humans, not machines.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has battled with AI company Anthropic, which has resisted the Trump administration’s attempts to lift guardrails, over how its products can be used for military purposes, including lethal autonomous weapons.
Just weeks after becoming vice president last year, Vance delivered a fiery speech at the International AI Action Summit in Paris, chiding European allies for their heavy-handed approach to AI regulation and advising them to “look toward this new frontier with optimism, not fear.”
Over the past few months, Vance has increasingly focused on how to manage the growing capabilities of AI. According to CNBC, he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called CEOs of major technology companies in early April to learn about the cybersecurity implications of the latest AI models.
Days later, AI company Anthropic announced that its latest model, called Mythos Preview, had discovered thousands of critical cybersecurity vulnerabilities across popular software applications. The announcement added a new level of urgency to defining the administration’s AI policy and prompted White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross to become more involved in AI deliberations.
Since then, different factions within the White House have fought over how to approach the emerging threat posed by powerful AI systems. Some, like Bessent, argue for more careful monitoring of powerful AI systems, while others, like former AI czar David Sachs, argue for a lighter approach.
At a White House press briefing last Tuesday, Vance emphasized that the administration is working with big technology companies “to keep the American people as safe as possible.” Vance also gave a nod to upcoming executive orders created in response to cybersecurity threats from models like Mythos Preview.
However, at the last minute, President Donald Trump decided not to sign the order, which would have introduced a voluntary mechanism for the US government to test the latest AI models from major AI companies.
