Sen. Schiff Introduces HALO Act to Require Human Control Over AI Weapons
The HALO Act of 2026 is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was recently introduced in the Senate and sent to the Committee on Armed Services for review. There are no upcoming votes scheduled at this time.
While AI safety is a growing concern, bills regulating military technology often face pushback from defense leaders. It has a high-profile sponsor but lacks broad bipartisan support so far.
Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
Active-duty service members who operate or command AI-enabled weapon systems would face new training requirements, quarterly doctrine reviews, and tighter rules about when and how these systems can be used. Designated commanders would carry clear legal accountability for every AI-assisted engagement, which adds responsibility but also provides legal clarity. Operators gain stronger whistleblower protections for reporting safety or ethics concerns.
“adequate training, tactics, techniques, procedures, and doctrine are available, reviewed on a quarterly basis, by weapon system human operators and designated commanders to understand the functioning, capabilities, and limitations of the system's autonomy in realistic operational conditions”
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Sen. Adam Schiff unveiled the Human Authority in Lethal Operations (HALO) Act, requiring a human commander to have the final say on any course of action taken by autonomous weapon systems and prohibiting AI use in nuclear weapons and mass surveillance.
US Sen. Adam Schiff introduced the HALO Act of 2026 to create new oversight requirements for autonomous weapons systems and limit AI-powered technologies for domestic mass surveillance, ensuring lethal force remains under human control.
The HALO Act would require a designated human commander to retain ultimate authority over any use of force involving autonomous weapons systems and codify prohibitions on using AI for nuclear decisions or profiling based on constitutional rights.
No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
HALO Act of 2026
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