Angry Planet How Israel Is Using Microsoft AI to Pick Targets in Gaza
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Mar 10, 2025 
Garance Burke and Michael Biesecker, global investigative reporters for the Associated Press, dive into Israel's controversial use of Microsoft AI in its military operations. They discuss how off-the-shelf AI tools, like those from Microsoft’s Azure, assist in targeting and translating data. The ethical implications are dire as AI may misclassify targets, leading to life-and-death consequences. They also highlight protests from Microsoft employees about the military's reliance on technology, raising urgent questions about the role of AI in modern warfare.
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Commercial AI in Warfare
- The Israeli military uses commercial, off-the-shelf AI models in warfare.
- These models, like those from Silicon Valley, perform tasks such as translation and data pattern recognition.
AI Misidentification
- An AI mistook a list of Gazan students taking an exam as suspected militants.
- The list, named "finals," was misinterpreted due to the AI's lack of logical reasoning.
Arabic Mistranslation Issues
- Mistranslations in Arabic are common due to dialects, spellings, and synonyms.
- The word for "payment" can be confused with "grip" on a weapon, leading to misidentification.