'The Machine Did It Coldly' - Israel Used AI To Identify 37,000 Targets

The Israeli military's bombing campaign in Gaza has used a previously undisclosed, Al-powered database that at one stage had identified 37,000 potential targets based on their apparent links to Hamas, according to intelligence sources.

- Bethan McKernan, Harry Davies

In addition to talking about their use of the artificial intelligence system, called "Lavender", the sources claimed Israeli military officials had permitted large numbers of Palestinian civilians to be killed, particularly during the early weeks and months of the conflict.

Their unusually candid testimony provides a rare glimpse into the first-hand experiences of Israeli intelligence officials who have been using machine learning and mass surveillance systems to help identify targets during the six-month war.

Israel's use of powerful AI systems in its war on Hamas has entered uncharted territory for advanced warfare, raising a host of legal and moral questions and transforming the relationship between military personnel and technology.

"This is unparalleled in my memory," said one intelligence officer who had used Lavender, adding that they had more faith in a "statistical mechanism" than a grieving soldier.

"Everyone there, including me, lost people [in the 7 October raids by Hamas]. The machine did it coldly.

And that made it easier." Another Lavender user questioned whether their role in the selection process was meaningful.

"I would invest 20 seconds for each target at this stage, and do dozens of them every day," they said. "I had zero added-value as a human, apart from being a stamp of approval.

It saved a lot of time." The six intelligence officers, all of whom have been involved in using AI systems to identify potential Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) targets in the war, spoke to the journalist Yuval Abraham for a report published by the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call.

Their testimony was shared exclusively with the Guardian in advance of publication.