Former Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Mukund Naravane said on 25 October 2026 that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in weaponry, weapon systems and platforms is expanding rapidly and that the armed forces must exercise care over how much autonomy they allow AI systems.
“The use of AI in weaponry, weapon systems, and platforms is growing rapidly. We must carefully consider the extent to which we should adopt these technologies and how much autonomy should be granted to AI,” General Naravane told ANI on the sidelines of the 15th Khushwant Singh Literary Festival in Kasauli.
Where and when he spoke
Naravane made the remarks while attending the Khushwant Singh Literary Festival at the Kasauli Club in Himachal Pradesh. The festival, whose 2026 theme was “The Art of Disagreement: Conversations Across Divides”, began on Friday and continued through the weekend.
What he said and the wider emphasis
The former army chief linked two themes in his public remarks: a strategic caution on military adoption of new technology, and a civil-society point about argument and discourse. On AI, his central point was that growth in AI-enabled weapon systems demands careful judgement about both adoption and the degree of autonomy such systems receive. On the festival theme, he advised that debate should focus on issues rather than personal attacks.
- Source: ANI reported Naravane’s remarks on 25 October 2026.
- Event: 15th Khushwant Singh Literary Festival, Kasauli Club, Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh.
- Core message: rapid AI growth in military systems requires careful consideration of adoption and autonomy.
| Detail | As reported |
|---|---|
| Speaker | General Manoj Mukund Naravane (former Chief of Army Staff) |
| Date | 25 October 2026 |
| Venue | 15th Khushwant Singh Literary Festival, Kasauli Club, Kasauli |
General Naravane also launched an advisory initiative for young writers at the festival called ‘Forever Young KSLF’ and urged discipline in writing, drawing a parallel with military practice. He said writers should “write fearlessly, but write responsibly”. These comments were included in the ANI report alongside his remarks on AI.
The statement is part of a wider public debate within India and internationally over the role of AI in armed systems, including questions of human control, legal responsibility and the operational risks of increasing autonomy. General Naravane’s comments add a senior ex-service voice urging caution on how such tools are adopted and governed.
