Pentagon AI error nearly triggered clash with China in Iran mission

A flawed AI-generated intelligence report nearly triggered a military confrontation with China during the Iran war this spring, according to CNN. The Pentagon scrambled jets and prepared troops to board a Chinese vessel before analysts discovered the report was "entirely false." The internal chatbot mistakenly identified the ship's cargo as nuclear weapons components, mixing open-source and secret intelligence into a faulty conclusion. The mission was stood down before boarding, but sources said the bogus report "almost started a war." Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has pushed an "AI-first" military strategy, accelerating adoption of tools like chatbots despite unclear guidelines. This incident marks one of the first major documented errors, raising concerns about unchecked AI use in sensitive operations.