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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Chris Stokel-Walker

Trump is using AI to fight his wars – this is a dangerous turning point

An explosion in Tehran, Iran, 1 March 2026.
An explosion in Tehran, Iran, 1 March 2026. Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA

There are a lot of things that AI can do. It can sort out your shopping list, and it can keep your kids entertained when they’re mutinous by spinning up a tailor-made bedtime story for them. It can make you more efficient at work, and can help our government operate more effectively.

What is written less about, and what we need to shout louder about now, are the risks inherent in the militarisation of AI. In the last three months Donald Trump’s White House has reportedly used AI twice to effect regime change, or to – in the most recent case in Iran – get as close to doing so as possible, and leaving it up to rank-and-file Iranians to finish the job.

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