US military operators started out skeptical about AI, but now they are the ones developing and using Project Maven to identify targets on the battlefield.

America’s use of AI in warfare is no longer theoretical. In the past several weeks, computer vision algorithms that form part of the US Department of Defense’s flagship AI effort, Project Maven, have located rocket launchers in Yemen and surface vessels in the Red Sea, and helped narrow targets for strikes in Iraq and Syria, according to Schuyler Moore, the chief technology officer of US Central Command. The US isn’t the only country making this leap: Israel’s military has said it’s using AI to make targeting recommendations in Gaza, and Ukraine is employing AI software in its effort to turn back Russia’s invasion.