A longtime Seattle journalist, Luke Duecy joins KIRO Newsradio after several years as a reporter on KOMO 4 News as a general assignment reporter. Luke also recently worked in PR, where he operates a boutique firm.
As conflict in the Middle East intensifies, militaries are turning to a new kind of weapon — not a missile or drone, but artificial intelligence . As you read this article, advanced AI systems are being used to help identify targets, guide strikes, and speed up battlefield decisions, promising greater precision and fewer civilian casualties.
But as this technology rapidly evolves, it is also becoming one of the most powerful and potentially destructive tools shaping modern warfare, many experts say, out of necessity. “It’s important to know that America’s adversaries are not having this debate about whether to use AI in warfare or national security; they’re already doing it, and they’re already doing it at machine speed, period, full stop,” Cristin Flynn Goodwin, former Microsoft cyber law expert and now owner of Advancing Cyber, explained. “It’s in every major battle space around the world, China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, all the big adversaries that the United States has.” Flynn Goodwin told KIRO Newsradio that China is reportedly using AI in satellites, drones, and seabed sensors to help its military track activity in the South China Sea. Reports also allege that Chinese-linked groups and AI firms used Anthropic’s Claude AI in large-scale cyber and data-extraction campaigns, generating millions of automated queries that could aid hacking and intelligence operations. “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and you can expect the Chinese will be testing other large language models like OpenAI and Google’s Gemini, to see its capabilities and how it would withstand an attack,” Flynn Goodwin said. Two sources familiar with U.S. military operations said the Pentagon used Anthropic’s Claude AI model during the weekend attack on Iran and continues to rely on the system. Defense officials have not disclosed exactly how the technology is being used. The U.S. military is reportedly deploying one-way drones to slip past enemy detection and deliver payloads. Multiple sources have said Iran has used similar drone technology to successfully strike U.S. embassies in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, as well as a consulate in the U.A.E. city of Dubai.“Russia has been using AI in attacks with drones in Ukraine, and they’re using AI in their drones to be able to find and track and strike targets with little or almost no human control,” explained Flynn Goodwin. “Drones use machine vision. They use autonomous navigation, and it helps them bypass jamming, because they’re so small, to help speed up attacks on the battlefield.”Tech Talk: From AI to 8K cameras, NFL leans on technology to reshape the game A central argument for prohibiting autonomous weapons systems that use AI is that machines should not be allowed to make life-and-death decisions without meaningful human control. Those decisions might include relying on algorithms to identify and attack targets, which raises serious risks of errors, misidentification, and unintended civilian casualties – especially in complex environments like cities, where distinguishing combatants from civilians can be difficult. Opponents also warn that autonomous weapons could lower the threshold for war and accelerate conflicts. If countries can deploy weapons that operate without human operators at risk, leaders may find it easier to initiate military action., a coalition of 61 groups in 26 countries formed by Human Rights Watch, is urging countries to create laws to prohibit autonomous weapons systems. The International Committee of the Red Cross falls short of calling for a total ban on all military AI, but they have urged governments to adopt strict limits and new international rules to prevent autonomous weapons that could violate international humanitarian law. Amnesty International warns that AI-driven weapons and surveillance technologies could lead to unlawful killings, discrimination, and a lack of accountability in war. The argument in favor centers on increasing precision and reducing human risk in combat. Proponents say AI-controlled systems can process vast amounts of data in real time, identify targets faster than humans, and execute operations with consistent accuracy. They argue this could reduce civilian harm and friendly-fire incidents compared with human soldiers, who can make mistakes under stress, fatigue, and confusion in high-intensity combat.The alleged deployment of Anthropic’s Claude AI platform to strike Iran comes despite a broader government ban on the tool announced last week after a dispute between the Pentagon and Anthropic. The disagreement reportedly centered on the company’s push for safeguards that would block the military from using Claude for mass surveillance of Americans or to operate fully autonomous weapons systems.Flynn Goodwin described U.S. interest in developing AI-based weapons as a national security priority. She cited the NSA’s AI Security Center as a key example, noting that other countries are actively developing and deploying AI for both conventional and cyber operations. “You have to expect, and in fact demand, that the United States would be prepared to do the same, or else our defenses would be weaker,” explained Flynn Goodwin. “Our adversaries are going to continue to push the envelope in how artificial intelligence can be used and abused for their own purposes, and so the United States has to be pushing the boundaries.” In other words, countries around the world are locked in a technology tit-for-tat that may never go away. “The United States military is working really hard on how to use AI for the warfighter,” Flynn Goodwin said. “That’s where I think we can take confidence in the fact that AI is not going away, and we’ve got a lot of folks that are thinking really hard about how to make sure that it’s being used to protect the US interests going forward.”As conflict in the Middle East intensifies, militaries are turning to a new kind of weapon — not a missile or drone, but AI.UNITED NATIONS — Demand for critical minerals that power technology from smartphones to missiles could triple by 2030 and quadruple by 2040, the United Nations political chief told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday. “A decade ago, minerals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel had limited strategic importance,” Undersecretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo said. “Today, they Microsoft's new Gaming CEO Asha Sharma confirmed the"return of Xbox" with its next-generation console, which is cross-compatible between Xbox and PC games.WASHINGTON — The FBI said this week that it is investigating “suspicious activities” on an internal system that contains sensitive information related to surveillance operations and investigations. The bureau is working to determine the scope and impact of the problem, according to a notification sent to members of Congress that says the unnamed culprit MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin man who allegedly told police that he tried to set fire to a Republican congressman’s office last year because he was angry that the lawmaker backed a bill requiring TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell off its U.S. operations was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison. In addition to CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA issued a welcomed all-clear Thursday, saying there’s now zero chance that asteroid 2024 YR will crash into the moon in 2032. The space agency had been predicting a 4.3% chance of a direct hit. But observations by the Webb Space Telescope in February helped scientists refine the asteroid’s orbit. Chrystal Ortega's tireless dedication recently earned her the WSECU Community Champions Award and a $1,000 grant to further the mission.When Shawn Tibbitts opened Tibbitts FernHill, he was just trying to survive. The small Tacoma restaurant has since earned culinary awards and praise.Wilcox Family Farms is continuing its cherished holiday tradition of giving back by donating nearly one million eggs to food banks across the South Sound region this season.Matthew Ballantyne has transformed that early awareness into action, embodying the organization's mission:"No Kid Sleeps On The Floor In Our Town."Discover Kitsap County’s creative soul: Where Nordic charm meets gothic gardens and ancient traditions thrive Kitsap County is full of wonderfully weird, authentically artsy, and unexpectedly magical corners that make visitors become locals and locals never want to leave.
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