Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay 

New agreements with eight AI companies raise concerns about autonomous weapons, mass surveillance, and civilian harm.

Text of Letter to DoD (PDF) | Text of Letter to AI Companies (PDF)

July 8, 2026 - Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren pushed the Department of Defense (DoD), Google, SpaceX, NVIDIA, Reflection, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Oracle for answers regarding the DoD’s use of AI in military operations and urged each of these companies to release the full text of their contracts.

The letter follows DoD’s May 1 announcement that it had reached agreements with eight AI companies to deploy their technology on classified military networks. Despite the potentially sweeping implications of these contracts, including deeply concerning potential for civilian harm, the Department has released almost no information regarding the contractual guardrails governing how these AI systems will be deployed in military operations.

“DoD has a strategic, legal, and moral responsibility to ensure that AI technology is deployed with meaningful constraints to comply with U.S. and international laws, including by preventing civilian harm,” wrote Senator Warren.

Senator Warren raised concerns that the Department is dramatically expanding AI use across military and intelligence operations without commensurate safeguards to prevent civilian harm, unlawful surveillance, or misuse of autonomous weapon systems. Reports have indicated that the Pentagon is pressuring AI companies to abandon safeguards limiting how the military can use their technology and pushing them to accept a broad “any lawful use” standard.

“Any standard that allows for all lawful use leaves the door wide open to gross violations of domestic civil liberties and civilian harm,” wrote Senator Warren.

In March 2026, Senator Warren previously wrote to the DoD and OpenAI regarding the DoD’s decision to designate Anthropic a “supply chain risk” after Anthropic refused DoD demands to remove certain contractual guarantees preventing the misuse of its tools, while OpenAI announced it had reached an agreement with the DoD, which appeared to allow the DoD to use OpenAI’s tools for both domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. In her latest letter, Senator Warren noted that DoD is reportedly continuing to seek to eliminate contractual restrictions that previously prohibited certain AI systems from being used for mass domestic surveillance and lethal autonomous weapons.

“I am further concerned by reports that DoD officials “hope the new deals will push Anthropic to drop its reservations about the military’s broad “any lawful use” standard,” continued Senator Warren. 

Senator Warren questioned the Department’s contracting process, including its decision to award a contract to Reflection AI, a company that has not publicly released an AI model, and requested information regarding any communications between Defense Department officials and Donald Trump Jr. or his representatives related to the award.

“DoD appears to have forged ahead in expanding AI use throughout the military, including as part of President Trump’s illegal war in Iran, while releasing no meaningful information about contractual guardrails to prevent the misuse of these tools or communicating to Congress and the public how these tools are used at all,” wrote Senator Warren.

The senator demanded answers by July 20 about the scope of AI contracts for military use, including specification of which AI companies’ products and services are used in classified systems, in what situations AI technology is used, and whether the agreements allow the DoD to use AI technology for domestic mass surveillance or lethal autonomous weapons. 

Senator Warren has continuously fought for the safety and well-being of our servicemembers and veterans:

• In May 2026, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) joined U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and U.S. Representative Pat Harrigan (R-N.C.) in releasing information confirming for the first time that hostile foreign adversaries are using commercial location data to target American servicemembers in active war zones.

• In April 2026, at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Personnel Subcommittee, questioned Admiral Frank M. Bradley, Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), on alarming reports of service members sustaining traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in President Trump’s illegal war with Iran.
• In March 2026, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, opened an investigation into the Department of Defense (DoD)’s decision to designate Anthropic a “supply chain risk” after the company refused DoD demands to remove certain contractual guardrails preventing the misuse of its AI tools. 
• In February 2026, at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, Ranking Member of the Committee Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questioned military leaders on the impact of poor barrack conditions and inadequate child care on service member morale and readiness.
• In February 2026, at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) delivered opening remarks calling for improving the quality of military barracks, better pay for child care workers so military families can have the child care support they need, and tracking the impact of Republicans’ health care cuts for service members and their families.
• In December 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth with concerns that the Department of Defense (DoD) is failing to properly implement a housing complaint database and the formal dispute resolution process for service members and families living in privatized housing on military bases around the country.
• In December 2025, following the passage of the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (FY26 NDAA), Senator Warren secured key wins on service members’ health and safety.
• In December 2024, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) reintroduced the Health and Location Data Protection Act, legislation banning data brokers from selling Americans’ sensitive personal information. Data gathered by brokers has been used to circumvent the Fourth Amendment, out LGBTQ+ Americans, and stalk and harass individuals.
• In November 2023, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.), released the following statements after Duke University published a report highlighting the detail, ease, and volume at which data brokers are selling the personal data of U.S. service members to web addresses located both in the United States and abroad.
• In July 2023, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) reintroduced the Protecting Military Service Members’ Data Act of 2023, a bipartisan bill that would protect the data of U.S. service members by preventing data brokers from selling lists of military personnel to adversarial nations including China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
  
  Source: Senator Elizabeth Warren