Report: IDF soldiers say AI system known as 'the Gospel' has led to increase in civilian casualties in Gaza
According to an investigation reported in The Washington Post, a number of IDF soldiers believe the Israeli military’s use of artificial intelligence in its Gaza operations has contributed to a rise in civilian casualties.
“People familiar with the IDF’s practices, including soldiers who have served in the war, say Israel’s military has significantly expanded the number of acceptable civilian casualties from historic norms,” the Post reported.
“Some argue this shift is enabled by automation, which has made it easier to speedily generate large quantities of targets, including of low-level militants who participated in the Oct. 7 attacks.”
The IDF has publicly acknowledged its use of an AI system it calls “Habsora” (“the Gospel”) for generating targets in Gaza, saying the AI system is a valuable asset in helping Israel achieve its goal of eradicating the Hamas terrorist organization.
The Post reported that after “the target bank ran low” during the Gaza operation, “the IDF turned to [Habsora]…which could quickly generate hundreds of additional targets.”
The report mentioned various other AI systems, such as “Lavender,” which is reportedly used to estimate the likelihood that a given individual is part of Hamas or the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group.
While "the Gospel" AI system analyzes data to suggest targets, the IDF has emphasized that human beings make the final decisions on any strike.
Responding to accusations that its AI systems have led to an increase in civilian casualties, the IDF told the Post that such criticisms are “off the mark.”
“The more ability you have to compile pieces of information effectively, the more accurate the process is,” the IDF stated. “If anything, these tools have minimized collateral damage and raised the accuracy of the human-led process.”
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
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