Israeli AI deployment in Gaza sparks autonomous warfare debate

Israeli military’s deployment of artificial intelligence in Gaza ignites debates on the ethics and implications of autonomous weaponry in warfare

The Israeli military has introduced advanced artificial intelligence technology into combat operations in Gaza for the first time, sparking concerns over the integration of autonomous weaponry in contemporary warfare.

The army has hinted at what the new tech is being used for, with spokesperson Daniel Hagari saying last month that Israel’s forces were operating “above and underground simultaneously”.

A senior defence official told Agence France-Presse (AFP) the tech was destroying enemy drones and mapping Hamas’s vast tunnel network in Gaza.

New defence technologies including artificial intelligence-powered gunsights and robotic drones form a bright spot in an otherwise dire period for Israel’s tech industry.

The sector accounted for 18% of gross domestic product in 2022, but the war in Gaza has wreaked havoc with an estimated 8% of its workforce called up to fight.

“In general the war in Gaza presents threats, but also opportunities to test emerging technologies in the field,” said Avi Hasson, chief executive of Startup Nation Central, an Israeli tech incubator.

“Both on the battlefield and in the hospitals there are technologies that have been used in this war that have not been used in the past.”

But the rising civilian death toll shows that much greater oversight is needed over the use of new forms of defence tech, Mary Wareham, an arms expert at Human Rights Watch, told AFP.

“Now we’re facing the worst possible situation of death and suffering that we’re seeing today – some of that is being brought about by the new tech,” she said.

More than 150 countries in December backed a U.N. resolution identifying “serious challenges and concerns” in new military tech, including “artificial intelligence and autonomy in weapons systems.”

Unmanned aerial vehicles

Since the start of the Israeli onslaught against Gaza on Oct. 7, Israel ordered residents in northern and central Gaza to evacuate toward the southern part of the enclave. 

At least 28,064 people have been killed and 67,611 injured in the ongoing Israeli offensive in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Like many other modern conflicts, the war has been shaped by a proliferation of inexpensive unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, which have made attacks from the air easier and cheaper.

In a first, the army has used an AI-enabled optic sight, made by Israeli startup Smart Shooter, which is attached to weapons such as rifles and machine guns.

“It makes every regular soldier – even a blind soldier – a sniper.”

The conflict has raised human rights concerns but also cemented Israel’s status as a world-leading manufacturer of cutting-edge defence systems.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the U.S. – Israel’s main international ally and provider of billions of dollars each year in military aid – was training its own soldiers to shoot down drones using Smart Shooter’s optic sights.

Source: Türkiye Today with AFP

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