4 ms·

US Used AI to Help Find Middle East Targets for Airstrikes

13 points by monkeydust 3y ago

freedomben 3y ago
> The US used artificial intelligence to identify targets hit by air strikes in the Middle East this month, a defense official said I don't like this headline. To ambiguous, which I suspect is intentional to get clicks. Any use of AI in military makes me very uneasy, but this is an important difference from what I inferred from the headline. The AI helped them see where they had been hit. It did not help them decide who to attack.
- nonameiguess 3y ago
  The whole discourse is honestly really stupid. I worked in geointelligence processing for the first decade or so after getting into software. My wife is still working on tasking automation for US spy satellites and has been doing that for about six years now, after working on aerial radar algorithms prior to that. The US military has used software algorithms to assist in sifting through sensor data and finding "targets" for at least 40 years, where targets just means whatever they're looking for. At some point close to 15 years ago, many of these algorithms started shifting toward using a machine learning approach where appropriate. At what point this is supposed to mean the military is "using AI" is not all that clear to me. What they have not done and likely never will do is automated strike approval. As of now, it is still encoded in military field manuals codifying our national interpretation of the international law of war that humans and specifically human commanders approve lethal force. On the other hand, yeah, software is going to help the munition reach its target. You don't throw heat seeking missiles by hand like they're baseballs.
  - sokoloff 3y ago
    This makes sense and I certainly hope and expect that the US military is using all available intelligence resources, including AI, that can reasonably help the military accomplish its mission, with the final commitment of lethal force being reserved for commanders.
    - aerostable_slug 3y ago
      I would also add that "AI" is currently being used to help match specific munitions to desired effects on target, not just in the planning stages but also while assets are in the air and the situation is developing. This helps humans best meet their mission needs while reducing undesirable effects and managing resources. The software doesn't decide who/what needs to be hit, but it can help allocate weapons to targets. It's pretty amazing stuff, but as noted never removes what I would view as moral decisions from the hands of humans.
    - zhengiszen 3y ago
      Like Israelis use of AI the goal is to kill, maim and punish free people non aligned with you.
deleted 3y ago
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13 points by monkeydust 3y ago

> The US used artificial intelligence to identify targets hit by air strikes in the Middle East this month, a defense official said I don't like this headline. To ambiguous, which I suspect is intentional to get clicks. Any use of AI in military makes me very uneasy, but this is an important difference from what I inferred from the headline. The AI helped them see where they had been hit. It did not help them decide who to attack.

nonameiguess 3y ago
The whole discourse is honestly really stupid. I worked in geointelligence processing for the first decade or so after getting into software. My wife is still working on tasking automation for US spy satellites and has been doing that for about six years now, after working on aerial radar algorithms prior to that. The US military has used software algorithms to assist in sifting through sensor data and finding "targets" for at least 40 years, where targets just means whatever they're looking for. At some point close to 15 years ago, many of these algorithms started shifting toward using a machine learning approach where appropriate. At what point this is supposed to mean the military is "using AI" is not all that clear to me. What they have not done and likely never will do is automated strike approval. As of now, it is still encoded in military field manuals codifying our national interpretation of the international law of war that humans and specifically human commanders approve lethal force. On the other hand, yeah, software is going to help the munition reach its target. You don't throw heat seeking missiles by hand like they're baseballs.
- sokoloff 3y ago
  This makes sense and I certainly hope and expect that the US military is using all available intelligence resources, including AI, that can reasonably help the military accomplish its mission, with the final commitment of lethal force being reserved for commanders.
  - aerostable_slug 3y ago
    I would also add that "AI" is currently being used to help match specific munitions to desired effects on target, not just in the planning stages but also while assets are in the air and the situation is developing. This helps humans best meet their mission needs while reducing undesirable effects and managing resources. The software doesn't decide who/what needs to be hit, but it can help allocate weapons to targets. It's pretty amazing stuff, but as noted never removes what I would view as moral decisions from the hands of humans.
  - zhengiszen 3y ago
    Like Israelis use of AI the goal is to kill, maim and punish free people non aligned with you.

deleted 3y ago

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