US Intelligence Threat Assessment Elevates AI as Primary Threat<China, in particular, emerges in the report as a country developing artificial intelligence rapidly and extensively.
>In its 2026 Annual Threat Assessment, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)—the umbrella organization for the US Intelligence Community—calls AI the "defining technology of the 21st century." The latest annual report features AI more prominently than the previous two, despite it appearing as only one short chapter.<AI is not treated as a standalone actor or capability, but as a cross-cutting force shaping persistent threats from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and terrorist groups. The report notes how AI has been used in recent conflicts for target acquisition and streamlining decision-making, representing a "significant shift in the nature of modern warfare."
>The report reiterates the emphasis from previous years on the importance of US dominance in AI technology, noting how "robust progress in AI by other global powers challenges US economic competitiveness and its lead in national security." China, specifically, is singled out as a nation "driving the adoption of AI at scale, both domestically and abroad, leveraging its large talent pool, vast amounts of data, government funding, and rapidly growing global partnerships."
<Another specific warning concerns autonomy in warfare. AI must be carefully guided to mitigate the hazards posed by its autonomy before deployment.
>Notably absent from this year's report is the role of AI in election interference, disinformation, and the rise of autocracy, topics that featured significantly in the 2024 report and subsequent hearings before the Senate Intelligence Committee. In Europe, however, this threat has not been forgotten.
<"AI tools can produce manipulative content quickly, at scale, and at low cost. AI-generated fake videos and images have become the new normal… AI has taken cognitive warfare to the next level, in the film industry and many other sectors, including our democratic space," stated Kaja Kallas, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, in a speech at a conference on February 17, 2026, in Brussels, addressing the fight against foreign information manipulation and interferePost too long. Click here to view the full text.