​’Man replaced by machine’: Is the use of AI undermining the IDF’s intelligence capabi       

    Following Hamas’ surprise attack on October 7 last year, the IDF launched an extensive aerial campaign in Gaza, leveraging years of meticulously gathered intelligence on addresses, tunnels and critical infrastructure tied to the terrorist group. However, as the target bank began to dwindle, the military turned to an artificial intelligence system known as “The Gospel” to rapidly generate hundreds of new targets, according to a detailed Washington Post investigation.The report examines how the use of AI technologies impacted the prolonged war, including its influence on civilian casualties and the quality of Israeli intelligence. According to two individuals familiar with the intelligence-gathering operation, the deployment of AI allowed the IDF to maintain a relentless pace of airstrikes.4 View galleryUnit 8200 troops(Photo: IDF)The Post describes the software as one of the most advanced applications of military AI to date, central to Israel’s ongoing operations. It also sheds light on internal debates within the IDF over whether reliance on AI weakened traditional intelligence capabilities and if the technology’s recommendations received sufficient scrutiny. Discussions on the use of AI began years before the October 7 attack, according to the investigation.Critics within the military have argued that the AI system contributed to a significant rise in civilian casualties in Gaza. The Post bases its findings on interviews with over a dozen individuals familiar with the system, most of whom spoke anonymously due to national security concerns, as well as on internal documents obtained during its investigation.“What’s happening in Gaza is a forerunner of a broader shift in how war is being fought,” said Steven Feldstein, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment, who researches the use of AI in war. He noted that the IDF appeared to have lowered its threshold for the acceptable civilian casualty rate during the Gaza war. “Combine that with the acceleration these systems offer — as well as the questions of accuracy — and the end result is a higher death count than was previously imagined in war.”The IDF said claims that its use of AI endangers lives are “off the mark.”“The more ability you have to compile pieces of information effectively, the more accurate the process is,” the IDF said in a statement to The Post. “If anything, these tools have minimized collateral damage and raised the accuracy of the human-led process.”A major transformation within Unit 8200, Israel’s elite intelligence division, has been revealed, showing a dramatic shift toward engineering and technology roles under the leadership of Yossi Sariel.According to a Washington Post investigation, by October 7, 2023, 60% of Unit 8200 personnel worked in engineering and technological capacities—double the percentage from a decade ago.