Flawed AI-linked intel almost led US to board China ship: Report

Two F/A-18 Super Hornets are launched from the flight deck of the US Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on March 3 to support the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran.

WASHINGTON - The US military came close to boarding a Chinese vessel in the Middle East earlier in 2026 based on a flawed intelligence report prepared with the help of artificial intelligence, CNN said on Sept 18.

US intelligence indicated the ship was carrying nuclear weapons-related components, leading American forces to prepare to intercept it, the broadcaster reported, citing four anonymous sources familiar with the incident.

But the operation was called off after officials determined that an AI chatbot used by an analyst had misidentified the material the ship was carrying.

CNN quoted one source as saying the intelligence report was “entirely false” but “almost started a war.”

It did not specify what the vessel was actually carrying or where it was bound.

US Central Command – which is responsible for American forces in the Middle East – did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported incident.

The CNN report comes after a furore erupted earlier in September when a researcher publicly resigned from leading AI firm Anthropic over fears that the technology could escape human control.

Another Anthropic employee, who did not resign, stated publicly that “we really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans,” and that he thought the chances were greater than “10 per cent within the next decade.”

Despite the warnings, US President Donald Trump and some of his key allies have voiced opposition to drastically curbing the development of artificial intelligence. AFP