LONDON: Kill lists drawn up from vast databases, facial recognition cameras tracking targets, quadcopter drones mounted with machine guns. The Israeli military’s artificial intelligence-powered systems played a central role in the Gaza war.
The ruthless efficiency of AI programs to process data and produce bombing targets combined with reports of limited human oversight has been blamed in part for the extremely high number of civilian casualties.
The scale with which automation and machine learning were used and developed during the war has led military experts to conclude that the world is now at a turning point in how wars of the future will be fought.
An Israeli soldier prepares an Elbit Systems Skylark I unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV or drone) for take-off near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on August 21, 2020, as part of monitoring operations in the area. (AFP)
For Palestinians, the legacy of this AI-driven conflict goes beyond the immediate trail of death and destruction. These technologies will very likely be channeled back into the occupation, entrenching what many describe as an “automated apartheid.”
