Killer AI Is Already Here. We’re Using It in Iran.
More than 60 percent of Americans believe it’s at least moderately likely that artificial intelligence will kill us all, according to a Politico survey released Wednesday. It’s easy to see why. Arguments that AI companies are “gambling with our lives” have dominated the news this week. But despite our fear that AI might kill us […]
A recent survey reveals that over 60% of Americans believe artificial intelligence could potentially cause mass casualties, reflecting widespread fear of AI's capabilities. Despite this concern, a lesser-known fact is that the US government is already utilizing AI for warfare, particularly in the ongoing conflict with Iran. The Institute for Global Affairs and YouGov's poll indicates that only 8% of Americans are well-informed about the military's implementation of AI in the war effort, with most respondents having only heard "only a little" or "nothing at all" about this use.
According to Jonathan Guyer, a coauthor of the poll, many people would be surprised to learn that AI is being employed by intelligence officers for tasks as routine as completing homework or summarizing emails. In fact, xAI's Grok AI played a crucial role in deploying over 2,000 munitions in just 96 hours during Operation Epic Fury.
Additionally, Palantir's Maven Smart System, which incorporates Anthropic's Claude AI, assists in ranking targets for strikes and drafting legal justifications for each operation, although its accuracy is questionable under adverse conditions. The Pentagon claims human oversight is in place, but examples like the recent bombing of a girls' school in Iran, which resulted in the deaths of 150 individuals, suggest otherwise.
Despite the human element in decision-making, the impact of such actions cannot be overstated. The speed at which the Pentagon has adopted AI-driven targeting systems has led to a significant increase in the number of targets struck during the Iran war, with over 3,000 targets engaged in the first week alone, and over 13,000 by the time of a ceasefire.
The utilization of AI in warfare is rapidly escalating the scale of atrocities committed. The Department of Defense's recent directive to embed AI throughout the "kill chain" demonstrates a lack of sufficient oversight by tech companies, which are left to self-regulate. Ethical guidelines for AI use in the military, while existing, only mandate human governance without imposing stringent regulations on semi-autonomous technologies currently employed for lethal purposes.
Consequently, the victims of AI-assisted military actions often go unrecognized in the broader AI safety discourse.
Written by urgent.news from Mother Jones's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
