Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Lt Gen Harsh Chhibber, DGIS, Ministry of Defence, highlighted the expanding role of AI in defence and national security, linking it closely to the need for sovereignty in critical technologies. He explained that AI enhances human cognitive capacity by processing vast data for timely decisions, but noted its limitations in complex military scenarios requiring human judgment. He outlined four major domains—persistent surveillance, cognitive warfare, autonomous systems, and decision support—where AI is being deployed. Emphasizing risks such as automation bias and adversarial manipulation, he called for sovereign algorithms and secure systems. Chhibber stressed that while AI can aid planning and simulations, it cannot replace human command in uncertain battlefield conditions, advocating strong testing and evaluation mechanisms.