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Abdul Moiz Khan

The United States and Israel are using artificial intelligence (AI) in their ongoing war on Iran. Even amid Anthropic’s blacklisting by the Pentagon amid a dispute over wartime applications, The Washington Post reported that the US military used the company’s AI tool Claude to strike around 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours of the invasion.
Claude helped in war-planning by optimising target selection, analysing intelligence data and issuing precise location coordinates by assessing satellite images.
The use of Claude is part of the Pentagon’s Maven Smart System. Built by Palantir, the system uses classified data from satellites, surveillance and other intelligence sources to provide real-time targeting options for the war against Iran.
The increasing use of AI shortens the “kill chain”, reducing the time between identifying a target and neutralising it. This leads to decision compression in which human actors increasingly rely on algorithmic recommendations rather than independent judgment. With a lack of binding agreements on responsible military AI use, risks will only increase.
AI’s increasing usage as a tool for improving precision and operational effectiveness raises serious concerns about accountability and the protection of civilians. Target-identification systems are only as reliable as the data they are trained on, and errors in classification can have catastrophic consequences. For example, there is a possibility that the mistaken bombing of an Iranian school on the first day of the attack, which killed at least 175 people, most of whom were children, could be due to AI.
The Israeli military has also deployed the AI system Lavender in its attacks on Gaza. The AI-powered database was used to identify as many as 37,000 potential targets for attacks. Despite Lavender having an error rate of 10 per cent, it was utilised to fast track identification and targeting of low-level Hamas operatives, risking the lives of at least thousands of civilians.

The increasing use of AI for military purposes rekindles the ethical and moral concerns regarding how governments use technology. However, despite such concerns, states have yet to take enough concrete steps to reduce risks. The rapid integration of AI into real-world military operations shows how regulatory efforts are struggling to keep up with the pace of technological adoption.
The US’ Maven Smart System is but one example of how military strategists increasingly view AI as essential for maintaining operational superiority.
International humanitarian law requires that military operations adhere to the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution. Commanders should distinguish between civilians and combatants and ensure that military advantage outweighs potential harm to civilians.
When AI systems are embedded deeply in the targeting cycle, it becomes increasingly difficult to determine whether these obligations are being fulfilled. If a strike based on algorithmic recommendations leads to civilian casualties, assigning responsibility becomes complicated. The chain of accountability becomes diffused between commanders, programmers, private technology firms and opaque machine-learning systems.

Another major concern lies in the opacity of AI decision-making. Many AI models function as black boxes. Even developers cannot fully explain how some systems arrive at a particular output.
When such systems are used to generate targeting recommendations, military personnel may find it difficult to challenge or verify the algorithm’s conclusions. This raises the risk that human oversight becomes procedural rather than substantive. In highly compressed decision environments, commanders may simply approve algorithmically generated target lists rather than conduct rigorous independent verification.
There are several global initiatives proclaiming to advocate for the responsible use of AI in war. However, these are largely voluntary and lack enforcement mechanisms. In the absence of binding regulations, major powers continue to integrate AI into military operations at an accelerating pace.
The ongoing war in the Middle East represents an early glimpse into the future of warfare. AI is no longer limited to logistics or intelligence support; it is increasingly shaping targeting decisions and operational planning. As military competition intensifies among major powers, the incentive to adopt AI-enabled capabilities will only grow stronger. States might fear that restricting their use of AI could place them at a strategic disadvantage relative to rivals.
Nevertheless, technological superiority should not come at the expense of ethical responsibility and legal accountability. Mechanisms should be developed to recognise that states and individuals, as opposed to machines and algorithms, bear legal and ethical responsibility for acts of aggression. This can help prevent accountability gaps from arising from the use of AI in the military domain.
Governments must also establish clear standards for transparency, accountability and human control regarding the use of AI in warfare. This includes ensuring that people remain meaningfully involved in decisions regarding the use of lethal force, developing auditing mechanisms for military AI systems and strengthening international legal frameworks which govern emerging military technologies.


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Opinion

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Amid a lack of regulations and binding agreements on the use of artificial intelligence in war, the risks to civilians will only increase


Amid a lack of regulations and binding agreements on the use of artificial intelligence in war, the risks to civilians will only increase.


Artificial intelligence (AI)

Anthropic

Palantir Technologies

US-Israel war on Iran

Technology

Iran

Israel

United States

Palestinian Territories

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Iran strikes are a wake-up call to regulate military AI

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Amid a lack of regulations and binding agreements on the use of artificial intelligence in war, the risks to civilians will only increase

Amid a lack of regulations and binding agreements on the use of artificial intelligence in war, the risks to civilians will only increase