Artificial intelligence is no longer a future prospect for government — it is already running core functions from military targeting to public administration. The shift, accelerating since 2024, is reshaping how states exercise authority both domestically and internationally, often with minimal public debate or legal preparation.
In the United States, the General Services Administration announced plans in April to automate one million work hours annually, following a nearly 40% staff reduction since October 2024. Similar cuts are rippling across federal agencies. While the formal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk has receded, its former staff continue to embed across agencies, pushing automation further.
Washington first adopted large-scale automation during World War II to manage military data. But unlike previous technological waves, AI-driven automation is eliminating jobs in both government and private industry without creating comparable replacement roles. This structural shift has profound implications for labor markets and public trust.
War by Algorithm
The most dramatic example of AI in government is the Pentagon's Maven Smart System, deployed during the 2026 Iran conflict. Launched in 2017 and led by Palantir Technologies with contributions from Microsoft and Amazon, Maven integrates satellite imagery, drone feeds, radar, infrared sensors, and signals intelligence. Computer vision algorithms trained on vast datasets classify battlefield objects, while an "AI Asset Tasking Recommender" suggests strike options.
What once required thousands of personnel can now be done by a handful of operators in seconds. A National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency official told Wired that targeting output increased from fewer than 100 per day before Maven to more than 5,000 during the Iran war. Earlier versions were used in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and during the seizure of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. The system continues to evolve toward true agentic AI warfare, where AI identifies and carries out tasks with minimal human input.
The Pentagon has requested $54 billion in its 2027 budget for "autonomous and remotely operated systems across air, land, and above and below the sea," including a "Drone Dominance program." This signals Washington's intent to reduce human involvement in war, as troop numbers have declined 64% between 1968 and 2025. Azerbaijan's use of loitering drones in Armenia in 2020 and Israel's AI-assisted warfare in Gaza show how easily other nations adapt. Russian and Chinese efforts to build autonomous systems are already competing with or outpacing those of Washington. For more on China's military restructuring, see Xi Jinping's purge of top generals.
Reducing human deliberation in warfare compresses legal review under international humanitarian law, which rests on the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocol I. The Lieber Institute notes that "the opacity of modern AI makes it harder to trace who is responsible for errors, and thus secure justice for victims. These gaps undermine both deterrence and enforcement, revealing how the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute fall short when applied to systems that make targeting decisions on their own." Principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution are now heavily strained, with enthusiasm for additional regulation waning as governments globally accept reduced human control to gain a strategic edge.
Domestic Automation: From Virtual Ministers to Predictive Policing
The shift toward AI systems also carries serious domestic implications. Law enforcement, legal processes, administrative decision-making, transport, and municipal management are now characterized by large-scale automation with creeping autonomy. Supporters argue such systems reduce human error and political bias while delivering faster, more consistent decisions. Lawmakers also need to keep pace with the private sector, which has embraced automation to improve efficiency.
Albania's Diella, a virtual "minister" in charge of tackling corruption in Prime Minister Edi Rama's cabinet, drew international attention with her inaugural address to parliament in 2025. Running on OpenAI models and Microsoft's cloud infrastructure, she is seen as a sign of progress. However, Besmir Semanaj, an IT professional with 17 years of experience, told Deutsche Welle: "Right now, Diella is just a chatbot, not an autonomous system. Artificial intelligence could support government decisions if properly trained and monitored, but the real issue is transparency: We don't know what data it relies on or who is responsible for maintaining it."
Since the 1990s, law enforcement agencies worldwide have evolved their use of predictive AI. By monitoring personal data like travel, finances, and communications, individual and regional risk scores are generated to direct police resources. In 2025, the British government admitted to developing a "homicide prediction project," using data to flag people considered capable of murder. Companies like Palantir and Babel Street sell systems with similar capacities. Police robots, from Singapore's patrol bots to Miami's autonomous security vehicles, are equipped with facial recognition and other surveillance tools.
The implications for Asia are significant. As the region's economies integrate further, the adoption of AI governance by major powers like China, India, Japan, and South Korea will shape regional stability. For instance, the Iran conflict has already disrupted energy markets affecting Asian economies. Meanwhile, Thailand's new government faces its own challenges that could be influenced by AI-driven surveillance and policing.
The normalization of AI in government — from virtual ministers to autonomous weapons — is proceeding faster than legal and ethical frameworks can adapt. The question is no longer whether AI will govern, but who will be accountable when it fails.
