US Sen. Adam Schiff on Monday introduced legislation aimed at establishing safeguards for the Defense Department’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) in military operations and surveillance activities.
The proposed Human Authority in Lethal Operations (HALO) Act of 2026 would create new oversight requirements for autonomous and semi-autonomous weapons systems while seeking to limit the use of AI-powered technologies for domestic mass surveillance.
The measure comes as Congress prepares to consider the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
“The past few months have shown us that there is an urgent need for commonsense guardrails to ensure the Defense Department’s use of AI is in line with Americans’ national security and privacy priorities,” Schiff said in a statement.
Schiff said that while AI can serve important national security objectives, decisions involving lethal force should remain under meaningful human control.
“My legislation would protect Americans from unlawful domestic surveillance, ensure that humans in the chain of command exercise responsibility for the use of any lethal technology, and maintain strong ethical protections in the deployment of autonomous and semi-autonomous weapons,” he said.
