2 New Recruits Help Israel Track Hamas Operatives In Gaza. They Are Both AI

Reports have emerged claiming the use of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems by the Israeli military in its bombing campaign of Gaza. These systems, named Lavender and Gospel, have played a central role in the IDF's targeting strategy, sparking debates about the ethical and legal implications of their deployment. 

What Is Lavender AI

Lavender, developed by Israel's elite intelligence division, Unit 8200, operates as an AI-powered database designed to identify potential targets linked to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Lavender uses machine learning algorithms and processes vast amounts of data to pinpoint individuals deemed as "junior" militants within these armed groups.

According to reports by Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, Lavender initially identified as many as 37,000 Palestinian men associated with Hamas or PIJ. The usage of AI to identify targets marks a significant change in how the Israeli intelligence apparatus, Mossad and Shin Bet, function - relying on more labour-intensive human decision-making. 

Soldiers often made split-second decisions, taking as little as 20 seconds to determine whether to bomb these identified targets based on Lavender's information, primarily to ascertain the gender of the target. Human soldiers frequently followed the machine's information unquestioningly, despite the AI program's error margin of up to 10 per cent, meaning it could be incorrect up to 10 per cent of the time. According to the report, the program often targeted individuals with minimal or no affiliation with Hamas.

What Is The Gospel AI 

Gospel is another AI system which operates by automatically generating targets based on AI recommendations. unlike Lavender which identifies human targets, The Gospel reportedly identifies structures and buildings as targets.

"This is a system that allows the use of automatic tools to produce targets at a fast pace and works by improving accurate and high-quality intelligence material according to the requirement. With the help of artificial intelligence, and through the rapid and automatic extraction of updated intelligence - it produces a recommendation for the researcher, with the goal being that there will be a complete match between the machine's recommendation and the identification performed by a person," the IDF said in a statement. 

The specific data sources fed into The Gospel remain undisclosed. However, experts suggest that AI-driven targeting systems typically analyse diverse data sets, including drone imagery, intercepted communications, surveillance data, and behavioural patterns of individuals and groups.

Ethical And Legal Concerns

The use of Lavender and Gospel in Israel's bombing campaign represents a significant advancement in the intersection of AI and modern warfare but at the same time, also raises ethical and legal concerns. While these technologies offer potential advantages in target identification and operational efficiency, their deployment raises moral and legal dilemmas.