The Use of AI in Modern Warfare and the Rise of Data Localization |
Oded Ailam, who had previously worked in the Mossad’s counterterrorism division, commented on the rapid operation against Iran that led to the assassination of the Supreme Leader, Ayatullah Khamenei. He mentioned that the operation took only sixty seconds. He also noted that the contemporary battlefield is more dependent on data than on tanks and aircraft. A former CIA veteran and writer, David McCloskey, disclosed that data and information today are multilayered. He explained that individuals always leave behind a trail. However, a major breakthrough in the contemporary US-Israeli and Iran conflict has showcased how artificial intelligence (AI) is being integrated into intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities to amplify information-gathering capabilities.
US-Israel AI Integration
The US has integrated AI into its military capabilities by launching the Maven system in 2017, in which contracts have been signed with data mining companies such as Palantir and Anthropic. In the recent strikes, Maven was powered by Claude AI (a tool launched by Anthropic) in identifying hundreds of possible targets, categorizing them in terms of their importance, and providing precise coordinates. This allowed Iran’s adversary to obtain a heightened awareness of the battlefield, significantly compressing the kill chain, i.e., the time required for recognizing a target and executing a strike against it. A similar scenario was observed during the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, where Claude AI was reportedly used by the US. Israel’s use of the artificial intelligence decision support systems (AI-DSS) known as the “Lavender” system to identify low-level Hamas operatives in Gaza is another case where AI is being leveraged to process large data sets combined with on-ground intelligence-gathering capabilities.
Data as a Part of Warfare
In this entire scenario, data has emerged as a crucial strategic asset that is enabling states to........