If you were wondering when the military will start deploying artificial intelligence on the battlefield, here is the answer.
Bloomberg writes that the U.S. is already using computer vision algorithms to identify precise targets for bombing. Recently, the technology was used for more than 85 airstrikes in the Middle East.
The explosions, heard in parts of Iraq and Syria on February 2, «destroyed or damaged missiles, drone storage and rebel operations centers, among other targets» and were part of the Biden administration’s planned response to a January drone attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members. The government blamed the attack on Iranian-backed militants.
«We used computer vision to determine where the threats might be», — said Schuyler Moore, chief technology officer of U.S. Central Command.
The computer vision algorithms used in the aforementioned airstrikes were developed as part of Project Maven — a program launched in 2017 to promote automation in the Ministry of Defense.
The use of AI to identify targets seems to be a trend — but a somewhat disturbing one. Late last year, it was reported that Israel was using similar technology to identify targets for bombing in Gaza. According to officials, the Israeli program can identify up to 200 targets in just 10–12 days.
«On October 7, everything changed. We immediately switched to a much higher operational tempo than before», — Moore said, adding that the U.S. forces managed to «make a fairly smooth transition» to using Maven after a year of digital exercises.
At the same time, Moore emphasized that every step proposed by artificial intelligence is still checked by humans.