Trump orders AI integration in defense, adds oversight

President Donald Trump has directed the U.S. military and national security agencies to accelerate their adoption of artificial intelligence, issuing a national security memorandum that seeks to streamline deployment while establishing new rules for oversight and civil liberties protections. The directive, signed on Friday, calls for placing advanced AI capabilities into operational use more rapidly.

The memorandum instructs senior Cabinet officials, including the secretaries of defense and homeland security, to identify mission areas where AI can enhance effectiveness and to remove barriers to its acquisition and deployment. A central requirement orders the Secretary of Defense to update the Pentagon’s directive on autonomous weapon systems within 90 days, a policy currently mandating human judgment over the use of force. The new framework emphasizes that AI systems must be reliable, controllable, and respect the military chain of command.

While pushing for faster integration, the directive also sets explicit guardrails. It prohibits using AI to censor free speech, embed ideological bias, or conduct unauthorized surveillance against American citizens. The White House stated...