Trump signs memo pushing faster military AI adoption with civil liberties guardrails

President Donald Trump on Friday put his signature on a security memorandum that tells the Pentagon, intelligence agencies and other defense offices to move much faster in putting artificial intelligence to work, while still keeping people in charge of lethal decisions and respecting Americans' civil rights. The White House cast the order as a push to get dependable AI tools into operational use more quickly, and reporting from The Associated Press said the announcement lands amid broader public unease about automation, surveillance and machine-assisted targeting.

In the White House summary, the administration says agencies should adapt strong commercial and open-source models for mission use, expand secure computing capacity and bring in systems from multiple vendors instead of relying on a narrow supplier base. The memo also calls for a reserve of outside specialists who could be tapped for national security work and for repeated policy reviews so defense rules do not lag behind the speed of technical change.

AP's account says the order also demands a fresh weapons policy for systems that use autonomy and makes clear that military AI must remain inside the normal command structure. The White House says the government must not use these systems to police political speech, inject ideological filters or spy unlawfully on Americans. AP added that the debate is sharpened by disputes between defense officials and technology companies over acceptable military uses, especially where software could support targeting or other combat decisions.

The administration says the new memo replaces Biden-era guidance and is meant to preserve U.S. leadership in defense technology. AP reported that commanders already see value in AI for maintenance, logistics and quicker analysis, but still argue that accountability cannot be handed to software. Taken together, the official fact sheet and AP's reporting describe a policy that tries to speed up military adoption without dropping legal limits, civilian protection concerns or human responsibility.