Iran War Provides a Large-Scale Test For AI-Assisted Warfare
- Reference: 0180919398
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/03/06/1629255/iran-war-provides-a-large-scale-test-for-ai-assisted-warfare
- Source link:
> The U.S. strikes on Iran ordered by President Donald Trump mark the arrival on a large scale of a [1]new era of warfare assisted by artificial intelligence . Captain Timothy Hawkins, a Central Command spokesperson, told me last night that the AI tools the U.S. military is using in Iran operations don't make targeting decisions and don't replace humans. But they do help "make smarter decisions faster." That's been the driving ambition of the U.S. military, which has spent years looking at how to develop and deploy AI to the battlefield [...].
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> Critics, such as Stop Killer Robots, a coalition of 270 human-rights groups, argue that AI-enabled decision-support systems reduce the separation between recommending and executing a strike to a "dangerously thin" line. Hawkins said the military's use of AI assistance follows a rigorous process aligned with U.S. policy, military doctrine and the law. Artificial intelligence helps analysts whittle down what they need to focus on, generating so-called points of interest and helping personnel make "smart" decisions in the Iran operations, he told me. AI is also helping to pull data within systems and organize information to provide clarity.
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> Among the AI tech used in the Iran campaign is Maven Smart System, a digital mission control platform produced by Palantir [...]. That emerged from Project Maven, a project started in 2017 by the Pentagon to develop AI for the battlefield. Among the large language models installed on the system is Anthropic's Claude AI tool, according to the people, who said it has [2]become central to U.S. operations against Iran and to accelerating Maven's development. Claude is also at the center of a row that [3]pits Anthropic against the Department of Defense over limits on the software.
Further reading: [4]Hacked Tehran Traffic Cameras Fed Israeli Intelligence Before Strike On Khamenei
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-03-05/iran-war-provides-a-large-scale-test-for-ai-assisted-warfare
[2] https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/03/01/1945208/america-used-anthropics-ai-for-its-attack-on-iran-one-day-after-banning-it
[3] https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/02/28/2028232/us-threatens-anthropic-with-supply-chain-risk-designation-openai-signs-new-war-department-deal
[4] https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/03/03/0512224/hacked-tehran-traffic-cameras-fed-israeli-intelligence-before-strike-on-khamenei
I think it depends (Score:3)
There's many different types of AI not all are fallible. If they're asking chatgpt who to kill next then it's a huge issue. I would hope they're not but I also wouldn't be that surprised.
Re: (Score:2)
> asking chatgpt who to kill next
Color me dubious on that one. But how about using a deep net to recognize what kind of aircraft has a given radar signature? It's not "decision-making" as people think of it, but it really kinda is - and could raise the probability of an aircraft being deemed a target or not and ultimately shot at.
Re: I think it depends (Score:3)
That sort of AI makes perfect sense and has probably been in use long before LLMs came about.
Re: Someone bombed a school next to a navy base (Score:4, Insightful)
What business have the aggressors bombing anything over there? Has the trumpistan lost anything in Iran?
Perhaps your war criminals are looking for the test tube of Colin Powell and the rest of the "WMDs" that you hallucinated back in 2003?
I'm not convinced it wasn't deliberate (Score:4, Insightful)
Trump fired half of his anti-terrorist team the day before striking Iran and put a 22 year old former grocery store clerk in charge of it.
Trump is clearly hoping for a terrorist attack on US Soil. Something like 9/11. He saw what it did for Bush Jr's poll numbers and he wants that. There are texts from Jeffery Epstein where he talks about Trump doing exactly that. Basically "If I go down I'm taking you all with me" is Trump's mentality and always has been.
It's probably why Trump has survived ripping off rich people several times. He's got dirt on them all and they're not sure they could arrange a "suicide" before he spilled the beans.
Re: (Score:2)
The accuracy of the strikes is inconsistent with a mistake. See [1]https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/06... [cnn.com]
The administration also had about to year to vet the initial targets. See [2]https://phillipspobrien.substa... [substack.com]
[1] https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/06/world/video/updates-suggests-us-responsible-iran-school-strike-digvid
[2] https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/the-rot-is-real-and-there-is-more
Re: Someone bombed a school next to a navy base (Score:1)
So again: is vetting of targets improved or degraded with the use of this nebulously defined ai in the mix or does it not matter?
let's play global thermonuclear war (Score:2)
let's play global thermonuclear war
Re: (Score:1)
I always wanted to be a mutant cannibal. It's a simple green life.
Anthropic, you say? (Score:2)
Well, I guess they won't be able to use Project Maven anymore, since it has Anthropic Claude on it. Sure does suck when your petty retaliation costs you your ability to use a tool you consider so valuable. Bullet, meet foot.
slashdot troll killbot (Score:3)
Can't wait for my visit from the Slashdot Troll Killbot.
Re: (Score:1)
Don't you threaten us with a good time!
Yeah, whatever (Score:3)
The US clearly has overwhelming strength compared to Iran. And woo-woo high-tech! But, the USA is going to lose this war.
Why? Because the US has no clearly-defined goals. All the regime needs to do is survive, which it will: In the entire history of warfare, there has never been a regime change brought about by airstrikes alone. That will be a win for the regime and a loss for the USA. And it's always the loser who decides when a war is over, so if the USA makes that decision... it's the loser.
Israel is probably the only country that will benefit from this; it will have a couple of greatly weakened adversaries in Hezbollah and Iran.
Re: Yeah, whatever (Score:2)
Russia probably just lost their supplier of Iranian-built drones.
Re: (Score:2)
> Russia probably just lost their supplier of Iranian-built drones.
Russia has been building its own drones for some time. Once they got their hands on Iranian drones they reverse-engineered them. They've since been upgraded with Russian tech.
Obviouis question no one asked the AI (Score:2)
Hey, [Musk's pet] GROK:
How difficult is it to sink a big oil tanker trapped in a narrow strait?
The answer may not surprise you, though I was kind of surprised by the humor of one of the YOB's proposed answers. The captains of the tankers don't want government insurance for the case when their ship sank. They want ASSURANCE that they won't get sunk. "No sale." No one can provide that.
Color the Strait of Hormuz closed.
Not to be solved by renaming it the Strait of America.
C'mon, whatagottado for a Funny around
Re:Obvious question no one asked the AI (Score:2)
*sigh*
Is there an easy way to get the Subject included in the spelling check?
Re: Not AI-"Assisted" (Score:2)
We were bombing schools on our own before AI.
Re: (Score:2)
A machine can never be held accountable, therefor a machine must make every targeting decision.