A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to establish a policy for the Department of Defense on maximizing autonomy and artificial intelligence systems, to establish requirements relating to Department review and verification of autonomous weapon systems, and artificial intelligence capabilities, and for other purposes.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · June 8, 2026
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
# Summary
The Responsible Artificial Intelligence Defense Act of 2026 establishes new rules for how the Department of Defense develops and deploys autonomous weapons and artificial intelligence systems. The bill requires that all AI and autonomous weapons maintain meaningful human control and oversight, with military personnel retaining the ability to monitor, intervene, and shut down these systems if they malfunction or behave unexpectedly. Before any autonomous weapon or AI system can be used, the Defense Department's top research official must verify that the system incorporates proper human judgment safeguards, complies with laws of war, includes robust cybersecurity protections, and undergoes rigorous testing in realistic conditions. The legislation also prohibits autonomous systems from making decisions about nuclear weapons launches and from targeting individuals in the United States without proper legal warrants, and it requires comprehensive annual reports to Congress through 2037. Certain military systems, such as those designed to intercept incoming attacks or defend unmanned vehicles, are exempt from these strict requirements.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.