Israel Denies AI Use for Gaza Targets Amid UN Concern

A recent report from an Israeli magazine has sparked international concern over Israel’s alleged use of artificial intelligence (AI) to identify potential targets in its conflict with Hamas in Gaza. The report, which Israel has denied, suggests that the AI program, known as “Lavender,” was used to identify thousands of Palestinians suspected of having ties to Hamas, along with their residential homes, as potential military targets. According to the report, this process was conducted with minimal human oversight.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed deep concern over these reports, particularly regarding the use of AI in densely populated residential areas. He emphasized that decisions involving life and death should not be delegated solely to algorithms.

While the United States has not independently verified the report, White House national security spokesman John Kirby has stated that officials are looking into the matter.

Legal experts and academics have also weighed in, with Adil Haque, a law professor at Rutgers University, describing the report as “the nightmare of every international humanitarian lawyer come to life.”

In response to these allegations, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have denied using AI to identify targets. They maintain that they utilize a variety of tools in the target identification process and that analysts must independently conclude whether a suspected target is relevant.

The +972 report alleges that the AI system was used to create a list of potential targets with little oversight, resulting in an increased number of civilian casualties. It also claims that Israeli officials deemed it acceptable to kill between 15 and 20 civilians for every target, a claim that, if true, could potentially make Israel liable for war crimes, according to Ben Saul, an independent expert to the UN on human rights and counterterrorism.

However, the IDF has clarified that the system in question is simply a database used to cross-reference intelligence sources in order to gather information on military operatives of terrorist organizations. The IDF asserts that for each target, it assesses the potential collateral damage and does not carry out strikes if the expected damage is deemed excessive compared to the military advantage.

Israel’s military policy has faced intense scrutiny following a recent incident in which several aid workers with the World Central Kitchen were killed in a strike. José Andrés, the chef who founded the organization, has accused Israel of systematically targeting the vehicles used by the aid workers. The IDF has described the incident as a “grave mistake,” stating that its forces believed they were targeting Hamas operatives.

President Joe Biden has reportedly spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging Israel to take greater precautions to protect civilians in its conflict with Hamas. The conflict began after Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took hundreds hostage in an attack on Israel on Oct. 7. Since then, more than 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, with the majority believed to be civilians.