Vance warns that AI should not outrank humans in war

Artificial intelligenceVance warns that AI should not outrank humans in war The vice president, speaking Thursday at the U.S. Air Force Academy commencement, told graduating cadets that “life and death must be made by humans and not machines.”Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Add NBC News to GoogleVance warns Air Force graduates that AI is a 'new era of warfare'01:27Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 28, 2026, 2:24 PM EDTBy Henry J. Gomez and Jared PerloVice President JD Vance said Thursday that he worries about how emerging artificial intelligence will be used in warfare, urging graduating Air Force cadets to not allow technology to supersede their judgment.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.“As AI transforms the battlefield — in some ways positively, in some ways not — I ask that you be jealous and selfish about your role as the decision-maker in warfare,” Vance said in a commencement address at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. “Use technology to make you better, but never submit to it. You are the masters of warfare. And both your minds, but also your hearts, are the opposite of artificial.Vance’s admonition came the same week that Pope Leo XIV issued a theological document warning about unchecked advancements in AI. The vice president praised the pope’s work on the document in an interview with NBC News and referenced it Thursday in his speech. Vance, one of the Trump administration’s most enthusiastic champions of AI, also referenced the recent jeers that have rained down on commencement speakers who have focused on the topic.“Now, you can’t boo me, I’m the vice president of the United States,” Vance joked. “But your fellow Americans are, understandably, they’re worried about AI, about how it will affect the labor market, how it will distribute resources, and how it has fundamentally changed how we interact with one another — our...