4 ms·

I hope I am alive for the history books of tomorrow. "The Department of War (as it became known as), forewent it's traditional intelligence structure (the most

by vegnus 8d ago

I hope I am alive for the history books of tomorrow. "The Department of War (as it became known as), forewent it's traditional intelligence structure (the most expensive ever seen till that point), in order to have a private companies computer software generate viable targets for an upcoming operation. Believing that the software had real time updates on the current status and intelligence of the operation, as if it were some kind of oracle, the operation went as planned. Six schools, mistakenly identified as hostile targets (due to the heavy American bias in the softwares training data), were drone striked, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of innocents. Still, the people did nothing."

CodingJeebus 8d ago
I immediately thought about the Iran school bombings as well. The really insidious part of this to me is that AI gives the military a way to cover or deflect war crimes. Does a horrific war crime like My Lai[0] get scrutinized and investigated in 2026 or do people just say "eh maybe AI gave them bad intel" and ignore it? 0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_massacre https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_massacre
- jt2190 8d ago
  The law of war is an attempt to have belligerent nations voluntarily set some limits on how far they’ll go when in conflict, in the hopes that the number of non-combatant casualties is reduced. That said, the answer to your question is that a nation that tries to follow the law of war has procedures in place to catch errors like bad intel. That is what a court would adjudicate.
- Blackthorn 8d ago
  Well, on the civilian side that's exactly what's happening with openai hacking other companies, so I guess it stands to reason that the military wants to get in on that too.
- twelve40 8d ago
  > gives the military a way to cover it's not like they didn't just sweep crap under the rug before AI. did Colin Powell go to jail for lying to the UN? of course not. did Colin Powell go to jail for smuggling anthrax into a UN meeting? of course not. he just blamed it on "being misled by bad intelligence". Did anyone go to jail for that bad intelligence? of course not. But we had to pay through the nose for decades of this shit in Iraq and Afghanistan (hundreds of billions), all for absolutely nothing. Did anyone even explain why the fuck, or was held responsible? of course not. They don't need AI to just ignore shit.
- mulmen 8d ago
  > AI gives the military a way to cover or deflect war crimes Huh? Who is accepting “it was AI” as cover for war crimes? > Does a horrific war crime like My Lai[0] get scrutinized and investigated in 2026 or do people just say "eh maybe AI gave them bad intel" and ignore it? Of course it does. The girl’s school bombing and strikes on fishermen are scrutinized. Why wouldn’t any atrocity? We do not suffer from a lack of scrutiny. We suffer from a lack of accountability. AI is only tangential.
- watwut 8d ago
  AI does not actually cover anything. Just because OpenAI and Antropic act like "AI did it" is get out of jail card does not mean it is. But USA wont prosecute own war crimes unless forced to, regardless of AI.
- ks2048 8d ago
  > Does a horrific war crime like My Lai[0] get scrutinized and investigated Of course scrutiny and investigations are better than nothing - but keep in mind in My Lai - all the charges were eventually dropped except for one guy (Calley), who in the end got 3 years of house arrest.
nightski 8d ago
Since it's in quotes is that what was actually reported in the article? Or are you stating a hypothetical? Because if the school strike was actually AI led that is a big deal.
- deadbabe 8d ago
  It is exactly what happened.
- Rebuff5007 8d ago
  We know AI has been used to do target planning: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/03/04/anthropic-ai-iran-campaign/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/03/04/anthrop...
  - nightski 8d ago
    I understand that. But I am specifically questioning if it was used to actually commit a war crime which is what the school attack was identified as by the U.N.
    - autoexec 8d ago
      I hope we'll find out the details of AI's potential involvement when the current administration gets called into the International Criminal Court to stand trial for their war crimes. I don't expect that to happen, but I'll keep hoping that it will.
      - hdgvhicv 7d ago
        At what point to you hold the citizens of a democracy accountable for their choices.
        autoexec 5d ago
        The citizens are accountable to the extent that they have power over what their government is doing and support their actions. In the US the average citizen has effectively zero influence on the actions of their government and the overwhelming majority disapprove of the current administration and its actions.
_blk 8d ago
It's no secret that history is always written from a victor's perspective so I'm fairly confident that the history books of tomorrow are already being hallucinated today because AI is here to stay.
- forgetfreeman 8d ago
  AI's power and water requirements are at odds with what is required to address climate change, so it really isn't a given that it's either inevitable or a permanent addition to society.
  - trollbridge 8d ago
    Water? What’s that got to do with anything?
    - forgetfreeman 8d ago
      Might want to look into it.
      - hdgvhicv 7d ago
        I admire your optimism. The only thing I see stopping AI is widespread nuclear war, or if we’re lucky widespread destruction of the electric grid leading to a collapse in gas’s and oil supply for only a billion or two dead.
        cindyllm 7d ago
        [dead]
        forgetfreeman 7d ago
        You're deeply mistaken if you think my view on AI is rooted in optimism.
        7d ago
blitzar 8d ago
Its worse than that ... they didn't use Ai to chose the targets, they chose to bomb schools.
etc-hosts 8d ago
The girls school strike was followed up by a strike minutes later. Same spot. The girls school children was probably made up of the kids of IRGC members. A strike on the girls school would attract IRGC members to it, who could be finished off with the second strike. I think the attack was deliberate.
- cyanydeez 8d ago
  you are way to forgivining in how stupid the military is under current leadership. This sounds like the same type of Israel apologism. "OK, well we kill a bunch of innocents, but they were related to all those evil people"
  - unethical_ban 8d ago
    I don't think "They deliberately murdered 100 children to lure opposition military officers in for a second strike" is apologism.
  - derwiki 8d ago
    I didn’t read it as apologism, just a theory that it may have been done intentionally
  - 2OEH8eoCRo0 8d ago
    People don't like thinking that a lot of good people can die from a mistake.
  - lopsotronic 8d ago
    Israeli "Lavender" AI-assisted targeting was used with/in "Where's Daddy"[1] mode, which had several frameworks for using family to strike identified targets. One method is to liquidate the residence with maximum family members on prem, which had a high chance of drawing the target to the location where a second strike would have a high chance of lethality. One aspect of Lavender that proved frustrating: the system identified so many targets that exasperated ground controllers eventually just ordered the equivalent of full on carpet bombing. When the whole building's showing up as red on your computer screen, I suppose that makes sense. From a particular perspective. [1] I'm . . uh . . not making that up. That what is/was called. Undoubtedly it has a more digestible name now.
throwawayq3423 8d ago
> "The Department of War (as it became known as)" It would take an act of congress to change the name, which won't happen. This should read: "The Department of War (as it was temporarily, illegally referred to)"
- deleted 8d ago
  [deleted]
- autoexec 8d ago
  It might not happen, but it's already passed the house and has support in the senate.
  - throwawayq3423 7d ago
    Congress just closed shop until after the midterms. This is an initiative to placate Trump. There is a 0% chance it happens after Democrats take control of one or both houses of Congress.
    - autoexec 5d ago
      It's good to see an optimist! Here's hoping you're right about the midterms.
- deleted 8d ago
  [deleted]
mulmen 8d ago
The People (as in the electorate) are doing a lot. If you mean our elected representatives then say that instead. Otherwise you’re just perpetuating the toxic helplessness that got us into this mess.
Razengan 8d ago
I Have No Mouth...
deleted 8d ago
[deleted]

by vegnus 8d ago

CodingJeebus 8d ago

I immediately thought about the Iran school bombings as well. The really insidious part of this to me is that AI gives the military a way to cover or deflect war crimes. Does a horrific war crime like My Lai[0] get scrutinized and investigated in 2026 or do people just say "eh maybe AI gave them bad intel" and ignore it? 0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_massacre https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_massacre

jt2190 8d ago
The law of war is an attempt to have belligerent nations voluntarily set some limits on how far they’ll go when in conflict, in the hopes that the number of non-combatant casualties is reduced. That said, the answer to your question is that a nation that tries to follow the law of war has procedures in place to catch errors like bad intel. That is what a court would adjudicate.
Blackthorn 8d ago
Well, on the civilian side that's exactly what's happening with openai hacking other companies, so I guess it stands to reason that the military wants to get in on that too.
twelve40 8d ago
> gives the military a way to cover it's not like they didn't just sweep crap under the rug before AI. did Colin Powell go to jail for lying to the UN? of course not. did Colin Powell go to jail for smuggling anthrax into a UN meeting? of course not. he just blamed it on "being misled by bad intelligence". Did anyone go to jail for that bad intelligence? of course not. But we had to pay through the nose for decades of this shit in Iraq and Afghanistan (hundreds of billions), all for absolutely nothing. Did anyone even explain why the fuck, or was held responsible? of course not. They don't need AI to just ignore shit.
mulmen 8d ago
> AI gives the military a way to cover or deflect war crimes Huh? Who is accepting “it was AI” as cover for war crimes? > Does a horrific war crime like My Lai[0] get scrutinized and investigated in 2026 or do people just say "eh maybe AI gave them bad intel" and ignore it? Of course it does. The girl’s school bombing and strikes on fishermen are scrutinized. Why wouldn’t any atrocity? We do not suffer from a lack of scrutiny. We suffer from a lack of accountability. AI is only tangential.
watwut 8d ago
AI does not actually cover anything. Just because OpenAI and Antropic act like "AI did it" is get out of jail card does not mean it is. But USA wont prosecute own war crimes unless forced to, regardless of AI.
ks2048 8d ago
> Does a horrific war crime like My Lai[0] get scrutinized and investigated Of course scrutiny and investigations are better than nothing - but keep in mind in My Lai - all the charges were eventually dropped except for one guy (Calley), who in the end got 3 years of house arrest.

nightski 8d ago

Since it's in quotes is that what was actually reported in the article? Or are you stating a hypothetical? Because if the school strike was actually AI led that is a big deal.

deadbabe 8d ago
It is exactly what happened.
Rebuff5007 8d ago
We know AI has been used to do target planning: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/03/04/anthropic-ai-iran-campaign/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/03/04/anthrop...
- nightski 8d ago
  I understand that. But I am specifically questioning if it was used to actually commit a war crime which is what the school attack was identified as by the U.N.
  - autoexec 8d ago
    I hope we'll find out the details of AI's potential involvement when the current administration gets called into the International Criminal Court to stand trial for their war crimes. I don't expect that to happen, but I'll keep hoping that it will.
    - hdgvhicv 7d ago
      At what point to you hold the citizens of a democracy accountable for their choices.
      - autoexec 5d ago
        The citizens are accountable to the extent that they have power over what their government is doing and support their actions. In the US the average citizen has effectively zero influence on the actions of their government and the overwhelming majority disapprove of the current administration and its actions.

_blk 8d ago

It's no secret that history is always written from a victor's perspective so I'm fairly confident that the history books of tomorrow are already being hallucinated today because AI is here to stay.

forgetfreeman 8d ago
AI's power and water requirements are at odds with what is required to address climate change, so it really isn't a given that it's either inevitable or a permanent addition to society.
- trollbridge 8d ago
  Water? What’s that got to do with anything?
  - forgetfreeman 8d ago
    Might want to look into it.
    - hdgvhicv 7d ago
      I admire your optimism. The only thing I see stopping AI is widespread nuclear war, or if we’re lucky widespread destruction of the electric grid leading to a collapse in gas’s and oil supply for only a billion or two dead.
      - cindyllm 7d ago
        [dead]
      - forgetfreeman 7d ago
        You're deeply mistaken if you think my view on AI is rooted in optimism.
        7d ago

blitzar 8d ago

Its worse than that ... they didn't use Ai to chose the targets, they chose to bomb schools.

etc-hosts 8d ago

The girls school strike was followed up by a strike minutes later. Same spot. The girls school children was probably made up of the kids of IRGC members. A strike on the girls school would attract IRGC members to it, who could be finished off with the second strike. I think the attack was deliberate.

cyanydeez 8d ago
you are way to forgivining in how stupid the military is under current leadership. This sounds like the same type of Israel apologism. "OK, well we kill a bunch of innocents, but they were related to all those evil people"
- unethical_ban 8d ago
  I don't think "They deliberately murdered 100 children to lure opposition military officers in for a second strike" is apologism.
- derwiki 8d ago
  I didn’t read it as apologism, just a theory that it may have been done intentionally
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 8d ago
  People don't like thinking that a lot of good people can die from a mistake.
- lopsotronic 8d ago
  Israeli "Lavender" AI-assisted targeting was used with/in "Where's Daddy"[1] mode, which had several frameworks for using family to strike identified targets. One method is to liquidate the residence with maximum family members on prem, which had a high chance of drawing the target to the location where a second strike would have a high chance of lethality. One aspect of Lavender that proved frustrating: the system identified so many targets that exasperated ground controllers eventually just ordered the equivalent of full on carpet bombing. When the whole building's showing up as red on your computer screen, I suppose that makes sense. From a particular perspective. [1] I'm . . uh . . not making that up. That what is/was called. Undoubtedly it has a more digestible name now.

throwawayq3423 8d ago

> "The Department of War (as it became known as)" It would take an act of congress to change the name, which won't happen. This should read: "The Department of War (as it was temporarily, illegally referred to)"

deleted 8d ago
[deleted]
autoexec 8d ago
It might not happen, but it's already passed the house and has support in the senate.
- throwawayq3423 7d ago
  Congress just closed shop until after the midterms. This is an initiative to placate Trump. There is a 0% chance it happens after Democrats take control of one or both houses of Congress.
  - autoexec 5d ago
    It's good to see an optimist! Here's hoping you're right about the midterms.
deleted 8d ago
[deleted]

mulmen 8d ago

The People (as in the electorate) are doing a lot. If you mean our elected representatives then say that instead. Otherwise you’re just perpetuating the toxic helplessness that got us into this mess.

Razengan 8d ago

I Have No Mouth...

deleted 8d ago

[deleted]