Ex-CIA chief Petraeus predicts AI could direct battlefield weapons by 2030
Retired US Gen. and former CIA director David Petraeus said on the Forecast2050 podcast that by 2030 militaries could field "agentic AI staff officers" and networks of autonomous sensors and weapons acting with little or no human input. He predicted "autonomous systems of autonomous systems" would emerge, with Ukraine seeing growing use of unmanned systems by the end of 2026. Adm. Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, said humans will "always make final decisions on what to shoot and what not to shoot, and when to shoot."
Whether to hand firing decisions to AI is shifting from a technical question to an institutional and policy one for militaries.
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust.
Looking ahead: AI could begin directing networks of battlefield sensors and weapons by 2030, according to retired US Gen. David Petraeus, who expects military use of the technology to expand from analyzing data to making decisions with little or no human input. The former CIA director's forecast centers on AI staff officers and autonomous command systems that could coordinate multiple machines. Rather than operating drones independently, militaries would connect them through a command network able to gather information and direct operations.
"Just four years from now, we will have autonomous systems, and I think we will have the beginning of autonomous systems of autonomous systems; we will have AI agents, so you'll have agentic AI staff officers," Petraeus told investor Finn Murphy on the Forecast2050 podcast.
Petraeus outlined how such a network could operate during a CNBC interview in May. Autonomous sensors would collect battlefield data and relay it to a central command system, which would then direct weapons with little or no human involvement.