Three Democratic senators have called for a Department of Defense investigation after reports that an AI-assisted intelligence report used by the military nearly triggered a conflict with China. In a letter sent Saturday to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, and Chris Coons of Delaware expressed concern about the reliability and oversight of AI-driven targeting and intelligence systems.
The incident, first reported by an unnamed publication citing anonymous sources, involved an AI chatbot that incorrectly identified material aboard a Chinese ship in the Middle East as components of a nuclear weapons program. According to the sources, armed military members prepared to board the ship and planes were sent into the air before officials realized the AI report was false. One source said the incident had “almost started a war,” and another said the AI report was false.
In their letter, the senators said they had “growing concern about the extent to which agencies under your oversight have prioritized acceleration of AI capability adoption and ‘experimentation’ over effective governance.” They asked Hegseth and Clayton to provide inspectors general with “unrestricted access to both instances this year in which media reports have suggested significant errors in AI-enabled targeting workflows, as well as any additional instances that may have so far not been publicly reported.”
The incident comes amid the Trump administration’s push to expand military AI use. In January, Hegseth released an Artificial Intelligence Acceleration Strategy. The Pentagon’s GenAI.mil platform, launched in December 2025, reported more than 1.2 million unique users as of April 2026. The Pentagon has also formally adopted Responsible Artificial Intelligence principles, and in August the Navy appointed M. Barry Tanner as permanent chief information officer to advance AI adoption.
President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Thursday with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington for a bilateral summit on national security and trade. The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment from Military.com.
Trump claimed without evidence in a July White House address that China had illicitly acquired U.S. voter files. In February, Trump said he would direct federal agencies to stop using technology from AI developer Anthropic after the company refused to give the military full access to its tools. Over the weekend, Trump announced on Truth Social the formation of an “AI Force,” saying, “We will not in any way hinder or stifle the Growth of this incredible Industry… However, we will also be looking for BAD.”
Sources: Military.com