“We cannot leave decisions on targets solely to AI; it would not be sufficiently responsible”, a Ukrainian commander said.
The role of artificial intelligence in Russia’s war against Ukraine has long been debated.
AI helps both armies map the frontline and subsequently analyse the satellite images collected. In some cases, it can handle tasks that previously required hundreds of people.
It is also increasingly used in unmanned aircraft, especially in cooperation with human pilots during the final stage of an attack. There has now been a breakthrough on the Russian side — the New York Times reports that its forces have, for the first time in Ukraine, killed using a drone which selected its own target using artificial intelligence.
The US newspaper, citing Ukrainian authorities and independent experts, described this as a historic milestone that could foreshadow “a dystopian future of weaponry untethered to humans”.
