The Guardian view on AI in war: the Iran conflict shows that the paradigm shift has already begun
“Never in the future will we move as slow as we are moving now,” the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, warned this week, addressing the urgent need to shape the use of artificial intelligence,The speed of technological development – as well as geopolitical turbulence – is collapsing the distinction between theoretical arguments and real world events,A political row over the US military’s AI capabilities coincides with its unprecedented use in the Iran crisis,The AI company Anthropic insisted that it could not remove safeguards preventing the Department of Defense from using its technology for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous lethal weapons,The Pentagon said it had no interest in such uses – but that such decisions should not be made by companies.
Outrageously, the administration has not just fired Anthropic but blacklisted it as a supply-chain risk,OpenAI stepped in, while insisting that it had maintained the red lines declared by Anthropic,Yet in an internal response to the user and employee backlash, its CEO Sam Altman acknowledged that it does not control the Pentagon’s use of its products and that the deal’s handling made OpenAI look “opportunistic and sloppy”,But as Nicole van Rooijen, the executive director of Stop Killer Robots – which campaigns for human control in the use of force – has warned: “The issue is not just whether these weapons will be used, but how their precursor systems are already transforming the way wars are fought … Human control risks becoming an afterthought or a mere formality,”The paradigm shift has already begun.
Despite the row, Anthropic’s Claude has reportedly facilitated the massive and intensifying offensive which has already killed an estimated thousand-plus civilians in Iran.This is an era of bombing “quicker than the speed of thought”, experts told the Guardian this week, with AI identifying and prioritising targets, recommending weaponry and evaluating legal grounds for a strike.AI is not a prerequisite for civilian deaths, military errors or unaccountability.The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, brags of loosening the rules of engagement.It is humans at the Pentagon who are dodging questions about the deaths of 165 schoolgirls in what appears to have been a US strike on a school in Iran on 28 February.
But – even without considering questions of AI inaccuracy and biases – the impacts are obvious to its users.One Israeli intelligence source observed of its use in the war on Gaza: “The targets never end.You have another 36,000 waiting.” Another said he spent 20 seconds assessing each target, stating: “I had zero added-value as a human, apart from being a stamp of approval.” Mass killing is eased in every sense, with further moral and emotional distancing, and reduced accountability.
Democratic oversight and multilateral constraints, instead of leaving decisions to entrepreneurs and defence departments, are essential.As the bombs rained on Iran, states met in Geneva to address lethal autonomous weapons systems; the draft text they considered would be a strong basis for a treaty that is sorely needed.Most governments want clear guidance on the military use of AI.It is the biggest players who resist – though they are at least in the room.The pace of AI-driven warfare means that caution can look like handing control to adversaries.
Yet as tech workers and military officials themselves are realising, the dangers of uncontrolled expansion are far greater.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
North Korean agents using AI to trick western firms into hiring them, Microsoft says
Fake IT workers deployed by North Korea are using AI technology, including voice-changing tools, to trick western companies into hiring them, Microsoft has said.The US tech firm said a signature Pyongyang money-raising ruse is being enhanced by AI, which is helping create fake names and alter stolen IDs to increase the credibility of false applicants for IT and software development jobs.The scam typically involves state-backed fraudsters applying for remote IT work in the west, using fake identities and the help of “facilitators” in the country where the company targeted is based. Once hired, they send their wages back to Kim Jong-un’s state and have even been known to threaten to release sensitive company data after being fired.According to a blogpost from Microsoft’s threat intelligence unit, Pyongyang is using AI to bolster the effectiveness of its ploy
Brent crude hits $90 as Kuwait ‘starts cutting oil production’; shock as US economy loses 92,000 jobs in February – as it happened
The UK stock market has recorded its biggest weekly fall in eleven months, as the Middle East crisis has hit shares.The FTSE 100 share index has closed 129 points lower today at 10,284, a drop of 1.24% during today’s session.That means it has lost 5.75% of its value since the start of this week, its worst performance since the week to 4 April 2025, when Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs rocked markets
UK arts must not be sacrificed for speculative AI gains, peers say
The UK’s creative industries must not be sacrificed in the pursuit of speculative gains in AI technology, a House of Lords committee has warned, as the government prepares to reveal the economic cost of proposals to change copyright rules.A report by peers has urged ministers to develop a licensing regime for the use of creative works in AI products and abandon proposals to let tech firms use the work of novelists, artists, writers and journalists without permission.The call from the House of Lords communications and digital committee comes as the government prepares to release an economic impact assessment of proposed changes to copyright law, as well as a progress update on a consultation about the legal overhaul, by a deadline of 18 March.Barbara Keeley, a Labour peer and committee chair, said the UK’s creative industries faced a “clear and present danger” from AI firms using their work without credit or payment.“AI may contribute to our future economic growth, but the UK creative industries create jobs and economic value now,” she said
Mark Zuckerberg says criminal behavior on Facebook inevitable
Harms to children, such as sexual exploitation and detriments to mental health, are inevitable on Meta’s platforms, the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram leader Adam Mosseri said in taped depositions played at a trial in New Mexico on Tuesday and Wednesday.“I just think if you’re serving billions of people, the unfortunate reality is that some very small percent of them are going to be criminals, and we should work as hard as we can to stop that activity from happening,” said Zuckerberg. “I don’t think that the standard for our platforms would be that you should assume that it will ever be perfect.”Meta’s apps, which include Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, are among the most popular in the world, each with 3 billion monthly active users.The trial has set the social media giant against New Mexico’s attorney general, who alleges that Meta’s platforms put profits and user engagement over child safety
‘Idiot’ to inspiration: Harry Brook’s England leave World Cup with reasons for optimism
If the first months of Harry Brook’s captaincy of England’s white-ball teams have taught us anything, it is that Joe Root knows him well. Looking back now at the teams’ progress since he took over, the run to the T20 World Cup semi-finals, and also at the scandal caused by his notorious drunken escapade in Wellington, the words of Brook’s Yorkshire teammate soon after his appointment seem more astute than ever.“He’s still an idiot, that’s not changed,” Root said. “But as much as he’s an idiot, and I can say that because I’ve known him forever, he’s very cricket intelligent. He might not always be the most intelligent away from cricket, but he understands the game exceptionally well and that’s why he’s so consistent as a batter, and I think that’s what will make him a really good leader
Tiger Woods’ wavering over captaincy undermines US Ryder Cup ambitions
Chatter on the Bay Hill range this week has suggested the prospect of Tiger Woods making a return to competitive action at next month’s Masters may actually be more than a tale of fantasy. There is even the suggestion Woods could test his competitive ability at a stop on the senior Champions Tour between now and Augusta National. If nothing else, the mere discussion keeps sponsors happy.One never really knows with Woods, whose schedule was always mysterious by design, but his addition to the Masters field would naturally turn heads. Having not played a mainstream tournament since the Open of 2024 – and with an injury record as long as the Trans-Siberian railway – Woods will presumably at some point have to prove he can either remain a relevant part of majors or succumb to the kind of sad, hard-to-watch existence that has befallen scores of sportspeople before him
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