Vice President JD Vance warned about the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in warfare, urging the graduating Air Force cadets to never forfeit moral decision-making to machines.
While previous commencement speakers have been booed for championing AI, Vance acknowledged the real concerns of AI during Thursday’s commencement ceremony. Vance noted that although AI is an inevitability, young Americans should prioritize human judgement and decision-making. (RELATED: JD Vance Is Finally Crushing The Fraudsters)
“The thing I worry about most with AI is how we change warfare,” Vance said. “Now Pope Leo XIV in a recent document encouraged us as human beings not to outsource the most important moral decisions to digital technology, and I want to endorse that sentiment and make it more specific to each and every one of you.”
Today’s warfighters have a great moral responsibility in navigating a battlefield that’s new to us all: a battlefield with AI. We must not outsource matters of life and death to machines. pic.twitter.com/oGOg3sTTRe
— JD Vance (@JDVance) May 28, 2026
Vance conceded that there are several positive developments and applications of AI both on the battlefield and in everyday life. At the same time, Vance pointed out the major distinction between humans and AI, saying our conscience qualifies us to make moral decisions in warfare in a way that machines cannot. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: JD Vance’s Anti-Fraud Task Force Uncovers $6 Billion In Suspected Fraudulent Government Contracts)
“It is an incredible burden to put on your shoulders,” Vance said. “But it is one that we entrust you with full confidence. And if the warfare of the future is to live up to the moral values of our ancestors, decisions over life and death must be made by humans, and not machines.”
“So as AI transforms the battlefield, in some ways positively and in some ways not, I ask that you be jealous and selfish about your role as the decision-maker in warfare,” Vance said. “Use technology to make it 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.”