Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza—which, according to reports, has struck hundreds of targets a day—has been described by experts as the deadliest and most relentless in recent history. It’s also one of the first such campaigns being coordinated, in part, by algorithms.
In its quest to eliminate Hamas in Gaza following the group’s deadly October 7 attack last year, Israel appears to be relying heavily on artificial intelligence to map out the battle space and inform tactical responses. While the country is very guarded about its technology, statements from the Israel Defense Forces, along with details gleaned from investigative reporting, suggest that AI is being used to help with everything from identifying and prioritizing targets to assigning weapons to be used against those targets. The promise of AI-assisted decisions is that they sharpen the accuracy of military actions. Some experts, such as Robert Work, a former United States deputy secretary of defence, argue that governments have a moral imperative to adopt this technology if it can be shown to reduce collateral damage and protect civilian life. In Gaza, however, evidence points to the contrary.
