How Israel is testing AI in war against Palestinians
An Israeli unmanned reconnaissance drone flies during an air show in Tel Aviv on 26 April 2023
Richard Silverstein writes in Middle East Eye:
The Israeli army launched a new strategy last year to integrate AI weapons and technology in all military branches – the most sweeping strategic transformation in decades. Last month, the Israeli defence ministry boasted that the army intends to become an AI “superpower” in the field of autonomous warfare.
“There are those who see AI as the next revolution in changing the face of warfare in the battlefield,” retired army general Eyal Zamir told the Herzliya Conference, an annual security forum. Military applications could include “the ability of platforms to strike in swarms, or of combat systems to operate independently… and of assistance in fast decision-making, on a scale greater than we have ever seen”.
Israel’s defence industry is producing a vast array of autonomous military vessels and vehicles, including an “armed robotic vehicle” described as a “robust” and “lethal” platform featuring “automatic target recognition”. An autonomous submarine for “covert intelligence gathering”, dubbed the BlueWhale, has been in test trials.
If all this frightens the hell out of you, it should. Israel is creating not just one Frankenstein monster, but entire swarms of them capable of wreaking havoc, not only on their Palestinian targets but on anyone anywhere in the world.
Palestinians are the testing ground for such technologies, serving as a “proof of concept” for global buyers. Israel’s most likely customers are countries embroiled in war. Though the weapons may offer a battlefield advantage, in the end they will surely increase the overall level of suffering and bloodshed among all participants. They will be able to kill in greater numbers with greater lethality. For that reason, they are monstrous.
Anther new Israeli AI technology, Knowledge Well, not only monitors where Palestinian militants are firing rockets but can also be used to predict future attack locations.
While such systems may offer protection for Israelis from Palestinian weapons, they also enable an undeterred Israel to become a virtual killing machine, unleashing terrifying assaults against military and civilian targets while facing minimal resistance from its enemies.