Habsora works by rapidly and automatically extracting intelligence, suggesting areas to strike based on where members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad are suspected to be. The system analyzes inputs like surveillance data, intercepted communications, and known group movements. Despite the increase in quantity, there are concerns about the quality of the targets and the risk of automation bias in decision-making. The IDF has stated that it is currently focused on eliminating the threat from Hamas and will look into these concerns at a later stage.
Key takeaways:
- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are using an AI-based system called Habsora (Hebrew for “the Gospel”) that rapidly generates airstrike suggestions in Gaza, greatly increasing Israel’s targeting capacity.
- Since its implementation less than three years ago, the IDF's targeting capabilities have dramatically increased, with the system generating up to 100 potential targets per day.
- The system works by rapidly and automatically extracting intelligence, analyzing inputs like surveillance data, intercepted communications, and known group movements. Intelligence researchers review the identified targets before strike decisions are made.
- AI is gaining momentum as a key warfare tool in several countries, including the US, China, Ukraine, and Russia. However, there are concerns about automation bias, where people could over-rely on systems which come to have too much influence over complex human decisions.