A group of more than 120 Democrats in US House printed on Thursday The Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth if US forces used artificial intelligence in the deadly bombing of an elementary school in southern Iran.
“What is the role of artificial intelligence, if any, in target selection, intelligence assessment and legal determinations during Operation Epic Fury?” Democratic lawmakers, led by Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), asked in a paper in Hegseth. “If AI is used, is it subject to human review and at what point? Was it artificial intelligence, including the use of The smart Maven systemused to identify Shajareh Tayyebeh school as a target? If so, has anyone verified the accuracy of this target?”
The letter to Hegseth was sent the day after The New York Times reported that Pentagon investigators foregone conclusion that US forces were responsible for the bombing of the girls’ school in Minab, Iran – an attack that killed at least 175 people, mostly the children.
Democratic lawmakers cited the Times’ report in their letter, writing that they “are particularly troubled” by the school bombing, which President Donald Trump initially – and without proof – tried to capture Iran before later saying he didn’t “know enough about it” to pin the blame.
According to the Times, the school strike “was the result of a targeting error on the part of the US militarywhich was conducting strikes in an adjacent Iranian base part of which used to be the school building”.
of the US military has confirmed the use of AI tools in its illegal war against Iran, which is being carried out in partnership with Israeli forces that have used artificial intelligence widely in their attack on Gaza Rish.
“Our warfighters are using a variety of advanced artificial intelligence tools,” said Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command. video message released on Wednesday. “These systems help us analyze vast amounts of data in seconds so our leaders can cut through the noise and make smarter decisions faster than the enemy can react.”
NBC News reported Earlier this week, the US military “is using AI systems from data analytics company Palantir to identify potential targets in ongoing attacks.”
“Using Palantir’s software, which relies in part on Anthropic’s Claude AI systems, comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth aims to put artificial intelligence at the heart of America’s combat operations,” the paper noted.
During his tenure as head of the Pentagon, Hegseth worked for him dismount initiatives aimed at reducing civilian killings, ridiculed in “stupid rules of engagement,” and protected “maximum lethality” as a top priority for the US military.
In their letter on Thursday, House Democrats wrote that the mass civilian deaths in the US-Israeli war against Iran are “alarming but not surprising” given Hegseth and Trump’s open contempt for legal restrictions on US forces.
“The US and Israel are said to have struck or impacted numerous civilian sites — including schools, hospitals, gymnasiums, public gathering spaces and a UNESCO heritage site,” the lawmakers wrote. “Civilians and civilians infrastructure under no circumstances can it be the object of attack and must be respected and protected at all times by all parties.”
Originally published by Shared dreamsthis article is republished under the Creative Commons license.
