How AI Warfare Is Redefining Human Oversight on the Battlefield

National Interest  |  Jakub Kubś

The US operation against Iran this winter deployed an AI-driven targeting system, Epic Fury, identifying approximately a thousand strike objects in 24 hours, a speed unachievable by human analysts, thus challenging "human-in-the-loop" control as systems like Palantir’s Maven create "black-box" kill chains operators don't fully understand. The Secretary of Defense's January 2026 strategy accepts "imperfect alignment" risks, leading to errors like a children's hospital strike due to outdated data and insufficient verification. Concurrently, AI revolutionizes information warfare, with pro-Iranian studios generating viral, entertaining propaganda embedding antisemitic tropes and American dysfunction narratives for uninvested audiences. The convergence of kinetic and informational AI warfare necessitates urgent policy responses. The European Defense Fund bans EU funding for lethal autonomous weapons without "meaningful human control," but broader frameworks are needed. Auditability in defense procurement and stress-testing policies against AI-driven disinformation are critical to establish binding rules before autonomous drone swarms, already seen in Ukraine, outpace policy.

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