How the AI 'Habsora' system masks random killing with maths
Israel's war on Gaza has seen it strike the Palestinian enclave with new and deadly ferocity. That onslaught, according to a recent report, is being powered with an artificial intelligence system that experts warn is indiscriminate and inherently faulty.
In a joint investigation, Israeli outlets +972 Magazine and Local Call conducted interviews with several former and current Israeli intelligence officials, revealing that the army had lower expectations than previously on limiting civilian targets.
Loosened rules were combined with the use of "Habsora" ("The Gospel" in Hebrew), an AI system that can generate targets at faster rates than before, facilitating what one former intelligence officer called a "mass assassination factory".
Officials admitted to the outlets that the homes of lower-ranked members of Hamas and other Palestinian armed factions were purposefully targeted, even if it meant killing everyone in the building.
One case saw the Israeli army intelligence approve the killing of hundreds of Palestinians to assassinate a single Hamas member.