The Donald Trump administration's eagerness to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) has been met with some notes of caution from the military top brass.
The development comes after the Pentagon said earlier this month that it has struck deals with seven technology companies to use their AI in its classified computer networks, the Associated Press reported.
The Pentagon has roped in Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Nvidia, OpenAI, Reflection and SpaceX to provide resources to help "augment warfighter decision-making in complex operational environments," the Defense Department said.
The Pentagon expects the move to allow the US military to tap into AI capabilities to enhance its prospects in fighting wars.
The AP report cited Admiral Frank Bradley's words of caution on the use of AI. Bradley, the head of U.S. Special Operations Command, said at 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 envisages a future in which AI would determine the targets to be hit.
"We, as humans, have to have the confidence that ... it's going to deliver violence only where we intend it to be delivered," the report quoted him as saying.
Bradley's remarks assume significance as he is in charge of the US military's most difficult and dangerous operations.
The talk about the need for guardrails for the deployment of AI for military use has not likely been taken up with much enthusiasm by the Pentagon.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, is a fierce advocate of military advances though an AI push, the report said.
Hegseth is also of the view that the Pentagon should be able to deploy technology as it deems fit. This has also led to clashes with firms like Anthropic, which has voiced ethical concerns on unchecked government use of AI.
Anthropic's concerns include the dangers of fully autonomous armed drones and of AI-assisted mass surveillance that could track dissent.
Hegseth has made known his backing for the unbridled use of AI for military use. In January, he told SpaceX employees, he would not hesitate to reject AI models "that won't allow you to fight wars."
The Pentagon helmed by Hegseth clearly is of the view that technology should boost systems that operate "without ideological constraints that limit lawful military applications."
The deployment of AI for military use is also in sync with the Republican administration's broader push to enhance the capability for the advantage of the US.
President Donald Trump had to abruptly call of plans earlier this month to sign a new AI executive order following concerns the measure could dull America's edge on AI technology.
"We're leading China, we're leading everybody, and I don't want to do anything that's going to get in the way of that lead," Trump told reporters.
The executive order would have set a a framework for the administration to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems before their public release, AP reported.
The Pentagon has, however, acknowledged that concerns, including that of Bradley, have been raised on AI's use.
A Pentagon official said efforts are focused on using AI to create "functional battlefield tools" to assist troops to identify targets more quickly and speed up strikes on them.
Officials at US Special Operations Command said AI is not seen as something that will help eliminate targets, but as a tool to offer troops more time to focus on their mission.
A top official for US Special Operations Command said he sees AI handling administrative tasks, which would free up operators or help modernize how the command does business.
The AP report quoted Melissa Johnson, a top acquisition official for the command, as saying AI should be "reducing the cognitive workload on mundane tasks."
The clash over the integration of AI for military use and concerns over who controls the technology and oversees the ethics behind its use has played out in public spats like the tussle between Anthropic and Hegseth.
After the spat, the Pentagon ended its $200 million defense contract with Anthropic, and went to the extent of prohibiting other government contractors from working with the company. It has also labelled the San Francisco-based company a supply chain risk.
Concerns about the deployment of AI for military remain, but the Pentagon is reportedly in no mood to halt advances in this direction. Earlier this month, the US military created a task force aimed at speeding the integration of artificial intelligence into its capabilities. Some officials are also worried about the potential threat powerful AI tools pose in the hands of adversaries and bad actors, but the other side of the spectrum says shunning the AI deployment may act as a drag on the military prospects of the US.
