Michael C. Horowitz

How 2026 Could Decide the Future of Artificial Intelligence Six CFR fellows examine the challenges that lie ahead, reviewing how governance, adoption, and geopolitical competition will shape artificial intelligence and society’s engagement with this new techn…

PWH Faculty Director @mchorowitz.bsky.social contributed to this piece for @cfr.org examining the forces that will shape AI's trajectory in 2026. Read here ⬇️

Trump’s $1.5 Trillion Defense Budget Should Not Come as a Surprise In the context of global threats to the United States, a long overdue defense modernization bill, and the ambitions of Trump’s signature defense priorities, perhaps the budget request should have bee…

Want to understand more about the eye popping 1.5T Trump defense budget news? Check out me, @dumbacher.bsky.social, & @laurenakahn.bsky.social for @cfr.org! www.cfr.org/expert-brief... #defense #natsec

Time to Accept Risk in Defense Acquisitions U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth launched enterprising Pentagon reforms that prioritize speed in acquiring new military capabilities, but this ambitious proposal is at risk of running into the …

"The Pentagon’s acquisition system is not built to meet a moment where rapid technological change in areas like AI is shifting the capabilities the U.S. should acquire," write @mchorowitz.bsky.social, @laurenakahn.bsky.social, and @dumbacher.bsky.social for @cfr.org: www.cfr.org/expert-brief...

Are We Ready? | The New Weapons of War, With Michael Horowitz Spotify video

In a recent podcast with @cfr.org, PWH Faculty Director @mchorowitz.bsky.social discussed how emerging military technologies are revolutionizing the modern battlefield and how the Pentagon is adapting and incorporating these new technologies.🎧 Listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/6n4H...

Today’s event in cyber threats, intelligence, and U.S. national security with General (ret.) Tim Haugh and PWH Faculty Director @mchorowitz.bsky.social is now live! Watch here: upennmeeting-edu.zoom.us/j/94243050774

The Cost of the AGI Delusion By chasing superintelligence, America is falling behind in the real AI race.

“It is unlikely that superintelligence is actually imminent,” write @mchorowitz.bsky.social‬ and @laurenakahn.bsky.social. Washington should not “distort U.S. policy by dashing for something that might not exist.”

Second Breakfast: Gaza, SOUTHCOM, AI Nuke Analogies Stink, Generals Using AI (with M. Horowitz and L. Kahn!)

🎧Podcast alert:🎧
PWH Faculty Director @mchorowitz.bsky.social was recently a guest on @chinatalk.bsky.social discussing the use of AI in the military. Listen here ⬇️
open.spotify.com/episode/57RY...

Michael Horowitz

Michael speaks towards a member of the audience.

A seated audience member asks a question.

Michael Horowitz

Thank you, Michael Horowitz, for sharing your research on autonomous nuclear systems during this week’s Wednesday Seminar.

📼ICYMI you can catch up on the conversation with the recorded stream:
https://youtube.com/live/TQKP0RuCZ_I?feature=share
@mchorowitz.bsky.social

Regulating military use of AI is in everyone’s interest Blanket prohibitions won’t work — but all states should agree on best practices for ethical and legal compliance

Regulating military use of AI is in everyone’s interest-As the private sector accelerates advances in artificial intelligence and militaries invest in possible AI uses from the back office to the battlefield, the development…
www.ft.com/content/c8db... @mchorowitz.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Regulating military use of AI is in everyone’s interest Blanket prohibitions won’t work — but all states should agree on best practices for ethical and legal compliance

"There is an urgent need to instill strong norms of responsible behaviour and build the capacity of militaries to integrate AI responsibly," writes PWH Faculty Director @mchorowitz.bsky.social in @financialtimes.com Read more: www.ft.com/content/c8db...

YouTube video by Open to Debate Wartime Kill Switch: Human or AI?

Through Open to Debate, PWH Faculty Director @mchorowitz.bsky.social participated in a debate centered around the concept of a "kill switch," a mechanism designed to shut down/override autonomous weapon systems in conflict zones. Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRKo...

The Cost of the AGI Delusion By chasing superintelligence, America is falling behind in the real AI race.

“Washington must ensure that the pursuit of artificial general intelligence does not come at the expense of near-term AI adoption,” write @mchorowitz.bsky.social and @laurenakahn.bsky.social. “Racing toward a myth is not sound policy.”

The Cost of the AGI Delusion By chasing superintelligence, America is falling behind in the real AI race.

"There is no doubt that AI is a very powerful invention. But when it comes to AGI, the hype has grown out of proportion," write PWH Faculty Director @mchorowitz.bsky.social and @laurenakahn.bsky.social in @foreignaffairs.com. Read here: www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

In a quote in @defenseone.bsky.social, PWH Faculty Director @mchorowitz.bsky.social describes former Defense Innovation Unit head Doug Beck's legacy upon his resignation: “...DIU under Doug Beck increased its ability to accelerate capability delivery that would make a difference on the battlefield,”

Is the Pentagon Slowing Artificial Intelligence Adoption? Senior Pentagon officials have demoted a crucial AI office from senior leadership to inside the research and development shop. They say it will lead to an AI-first push, but the move could put Trump’…

"The critical next step for the development of AI and the continued defense of U.S. national security interests is adoption at scale," write PWH Faculty Director @mchorowitz.bsky.social and PWH Fellow Radha Iyengar Plumb for @cfr.org. Read here: www.cfr.org/article/pent...

Pentagon moves AI office under R&D, raising fears it’s ‘demoting AI’ - Breaking Defense “When you pull an organization that was a direct report to the deputy secretary or secretary and move it somewhere else…the message to the force is loud and clear: This isn’t a priority,” said retired...

“Demoting AI within the Pentagon seems pretty risky at this point in history,” says PWH Faculty Director @mchorowitz.bsky.social in a quote for @breakingdefense.com on the DoD’s AI shake-up. Read more: breakingdefense.com/2025/08/pent...

YouTube video by Pod Save the World Trump’s Strongman Summit Is A Gift to Putin

On the latest episode of Pod Save the World, PWH Faculty Director @mchorowitz.bsky.social discussed how drones and artificial intelligence have ushered in a new era of warfare. Listen here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwRl...

God, Guns, and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America Far-Right Terrorism in America

Exciting news: GOD, GUNS, and SEDITION is out today in paperback!

My @cfr.org and @columbiaup.bsky.social book, co-authored with @hoffmanbruce.bsky.social, tells the story of far-right terrorism in America and beyond—a topic that sadly remains as relevant as ever. bookshop.org/p/books/god-...

Pentagon looks to unleash ‘military drone dominance’ U.S. defense chief Pete Hegseth has ordered the military to fast-track the adoption of a boosted number of small drones deployed across the force.

PWH Faculty Director @mchorowitz.bsky.social is quoted in this @japantimes.co.jp piece about the Pentagon's use of drones in the military. Read more: www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07...

Did Big Tech just outfox the China hawks?

To read the latest on the White House's position on Nvidia and AMD's sales of chips to China, read this @politico.com piece with a quote from PWH Faculty Director @mchorowitz.bsky.social: www.politico.com/newsletters/...

AI, Autonomous Weapon Systems, and the Future of Warfare with Dr. Michael C. Horowitz, University of Pennsylvania | Squaring the Circle

Listen to PWH Faculty Director @mchorowitz.bsky.social on the Squaring the Circle podcast, discussing AI, autonomous weapon systems, and the future of warfare. 🎧Listen here: shows.acast.com/squaring-the...

Is the U.S. Ready for the Next War? With global conflicts increasingly shaped by drones and A.I., the American military risks losing its dominance.

PWH Faculty Director @mchorowitz.bsky.social is quoted in this @newyorker.com piece: “Ukraine has shown us that in future wars we have to expect that data links with all sorts of platforms and systems will be severed. Autonomy lets you solve that issue.” Read more: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Will Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful’ Defense Spending Last? Trump’s signature legislation will push defense spending past $1 trillion, with new funding for innovation and other capabilities. But those investments are at risk of becoming one-off acquisitions w…

🚀🇺🇸 Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill" adds $150B in defense $. It could accelerate emerging tech adoption to stay ahead of China + bolster nuclear deterrence...or not. Learn more in latest from me, @dumbacher.bsky.social, @laurenakahn.bsky.social for @cfr.org www.cfr.org/expert-brief...

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Is the Wrong Framework for AI Governance | AI Frontiers Michael C. Horowitz, Jun 27, 2025 — Placing AI in a nuclear framework inflates expectations and distracts from practical, sector-specific governance.

AI governance and policy needs to start from the assumption that, as a general purpose technology, AI tech WILL diffuse - the analogy to the control paradigm of nuclear tech won't work! See my recent piece w/ @laurenakahn.bsky.social in @aifrontiers.bsky.social ai-frontiers.org/articles/nuc...

What Drones Can—and Cannot—Do on the Battlefield The Pentagon should learn from Israel and Ukraine.

How can the United States prepare for the future of warfare? Read the latest by @mchorowitz.bsky.social, @laurenakahn.bsky.social, and CMIST’s @joshschwartz.bsky.social in @foreignaffairs.com on how the U.S. can adapt to the changing nature of war www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

What Drones Can—and Cannot—Do on the Battlefield The Pentagon should learn from Israel and Ukraine.

What does the Israel-Iran War / Russia-Ukraine War suggest about emerging tech and the future of warfare? Excited to have a new @foreignaffairs.com article w/ @mchorowitz.bsky.social + @laurenakahn.bsky.social on how to bring balance to the (military) force www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

What Drones Can—and Cannot—Do on the Battlefield The Pentagon should learn from Israel and Ukraine.

“If the Pentagon does not adjust to the new realities of warfare, it will lose the ability to deter adversaries’ aggression before it occurs—and perhaps the ability to win wars,” warn @mchorowitz.bsky.social‬, @laurenakahn.bsky.social, and @joshschwartz.bsky.social.

What Drones Can—and Cannot—Do on the Battlefield The Pentagon should learn from Israel and Ukraine.

"If the Pentagon does not adjust to the new realities of warfare, it will lose the ability to deter adversaries’ aggression before it occurs" write @mchorowitz.bsky.social, @laurenakahn.bsky.social, & @joshschwartz.bsky.social in @foreignaffairs.com. Read here:
www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

Yes. Plus the IAEA has credibility because of its inspections, which would be nearly impossible to replicate for AI.

We should resist the temptation to use the nuclear age and non-proliferation regime as the basis for #AI policy. It's different tech and the approach won't be effective. My latest with @laurenakahn.bsky.social ⬇️