The Middle East has become a stage for the use of the latest military technologies, with a new soldier entering the battlefields: "artificial intelligence." Bloomberg reported, citing a U.S. official, that "the United States used AI to identify targets it struck in the Middle East this month." Schuyler Moore, Chief Technology Officer at U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), stated that the U.S. used AI to help find targets for airstrikes in the Middle East during February, according to Bloomberg. Machine learning algorithms capable of teaching themselves how to recognize objects helped identify over 85 targets for U.S. airstrikes on February 2, as stated by the command overseeing U.S. military operations in the Middle East. The Pentagon noted that these strikes were carried out by U.S. bombers and fighter jets against seven facilities in Iraq and Syria.
Moore mentioned, "We were using AI to identify places that may pose threats." She added, "We have certainly had more targeting opportunities in the last 60 to 90 days," emphasizing that the U.S. is currently searching for a "massive number" of rocket launch platforms held by hostile forces in the region. She explained that U.S. forces in the Middle East tested computer vision algorithms, which can identify targets from images captured by satellites and other data sources, during training last year.
She confirmed that human verification is continually performed on AI targeting recommendations. She stated that U.S. operators take their responsibilities seriously and are aware of the risks of potential errors from AI. "There is never an algorithm that just works, reaches a result, and then moves to the next step; every step involving AI requires human oversight in the end."
For its part, the Israeli military has also turned to AI technologies in Gaza for the first time, aiming to intercept drones and monitor Hamas tunnels. Last month, an Israeli military spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, hinted at the purpose of these technologies, stating that "Israeli forces are operating both above ground and underground."
