Military AI needs guardrails—not to slow it down, but to keep it useful

As the Trump administration pushes to “ aggressively adopt AI ” in the military, there’s a recognition that some of the models may have protections or limitations that aren’t applicable in a military context. To be sure, some of these will need modification to suit the military’s mission. But there are many reasons that the military will want to have guardrails built in, for its own protection.

Policymakers and AI labs should collaborate on how to adapt guardrails specifically for military uses. Some existing guardrails, like discouraging users from killing people, are inapplicable to military use where mission lethality is essential. But removing all guardrails without contextually appropriate replacements could have severe consequences. This is why the Trump administration's decision