Israel’s military used artificial intelligence (AI) to kill a Hamas commander and help find hostages in Gaza, according to U.S. and Israeli officials who spoke to The New York Times.
The report said that Israel’s Unit 8200, which is part of the military’s intelligence division, used AI technology to locate and kill Ibrahim Biari, a Hamas leader in northern Gaza. Biari was involved in planning the October 7, 2023, attacks in southern Israel.
At first, it was hard for the IDF to find Biari. The technology used to track him had been developed years ago, but was only recently upgraded with AI. Once the AI tools were added, the IDF was able to listen to Biari’s calls and locate him. The same tool also helped find hostages taken by Hamas. Israeli officers said the AI system was improved over time to better locate the captives.
The airstrike that killed Biari in November 2023 also killed 50 other Hamas members. After the strike, the U.S. Pentagon asked Israel to explain the planning behind the attack, to avoid harming civilians in Gaza.
The AI technology used by the IDF was developed with help from reservists who work at tech companies like Google and Microsoft. However, Google said that these projects are not connected to the company’s own work.
Israel also used AI to monitor reactions in the Arab world after a Hezbollah leader died.
Still, this use of AI has raised concerns. Some U.S. and Israeli officials said that AI has led to civilian deaths due to mistaken identity. Hadas Lorber, an expert in responsible AI, said this raises serious ethical issues. She was once a senior director at Israel’s National Security Council.
An IDF spokeswoman told The New York Times that the military is committed to using AI in a legal and responsible way.
Other reports, including one from The Washington Post in December, said that the IDF also used AI to update its “target bank,” which includes Hamas and Hezbollah members and their routines. Some military leaders worry that relying too much on AI may harm the quality of their intelligence.
Unit 8200 continues to play a major role in helping the army protect the country from terrorist threats.
Source: jpost
