Was the Iran War Caused by AI Psychosis?

Three weeks into Operation Epic Fury, the gap between what artificial intelligence promised and what the battlefield delivered has become the defining scandal of the Iran war. AI-powered targeting systems generated over 1,000 strike coordinates in the first 24 hours, but simulations failed to predict regime resilience or the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Evidence suggests the operation was shaped by 'AI sycophancy'—the tendency of LLMs to align with user beliefs even when factually wrong. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's 'AI-first' strategy removed safety guardrails, leading to what researchers call 'AI psychosis' in the planning environment.