Episode description

The Israeli military has been using an artificial intelligence tool to identify human targets for bombing in Gaza, according to a new investigation by Israeli outlets +972 Magazine and Local Call. 

Intelligence sources cited in the report allege that the AI system, called Lavender, at one stage identified 37,000 potential targets — and that approximately 10 per cent of those targets were marked in error. The sources also allege that in the early weeks of the war, the army authorized an unprecedented level of “collateral damage” — that is, civilians killed — for each target marked by Lavender. 

The investigation was also shared with the Guardian newspaper, which published their own in-depth reporting. 

Israel disputes and denies several parts of the investigation.

Today, the investigation’s reporter, Yuval Abraham, joins us to explain his findings.