The Associated Press (AP) confirmed that the US supported Israel’s attack through AI contracts of computer services to identify suspected militants in Gaza and Lebanon.
The contracts started from October 7, 2023, attacks, and are raising ethical issues of AI involvement in war operations.
The Israeli military has relied heavily on AI for analyzing intelligence, interceptions of communication, and tracking enemy movements. The military AI contracts provided by Microsoft and OpenAI have risen by as much as 200 times after the October attacks. They use these tools to search through vast volumes of data collected from surveillance, including calls and messages, to highlight possible targets.
Although the Israeli military assures that human analysts have to endorse AI-suggested targets to ensure that they are in line with international law, the increasing toll of civilian casualties in Gaza is raising questions over the effectiveness and ethics of such technology.
AI Companies with Military Contracts
Microsoft, with which Israel’s Ministry of Defense has had a long-term relationship, played a key role in facilitating military operations.
The Big Tech giant’s Azure cloud computing capabilities aid in processing huge amounts of intelligence, including intercepted communications. A $133 million 2021 deal between Israel’s Ministry of Defense and Microsoft is an example of the AI companies with government contracts.
OpenAI models, such as Whisper translation software, are also used in translating intelligence data, but they have raised some controversy surrounding accuracy and error, like generating incorrect text or unjustified comments. Israel’s military maintains that all this kind of information is checked by officers who understand Arabic in order to validate it.
They are among other technology firms, such as Google, Amazon, and IBM, that are part of the ecosystem.
For Project Nimbus – worth $1.2 billion – they provided cloud infrastructure and AI technology in supporting Israel’s defense. Cisco and Dell provide data centers, while the Microsoft partner in US defense contacts, one Palantir US military AI contract provided additional AI support.
Ethical Use of AI Contracts
The role of AI companies in military operations is growing, which is alarming. After AI contracts for US military and Israel, Microsoft and Google employees have protested those contracts arguing that their technology is being misused.
AI in warfare offers greater precision but with equally greater dangers. AI systems help with target identification, but they can be mistaken due to insufficient algorithms. These problems indicate the challenges of AI government contracts for AI use in warfare, where human lives are at stake. While Israel plans to expand its AI contacts in all military branches, the role US technology companies will shape next-generation warfare.
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