Israel’s recent war in Gaza has been described as the first major “AI war” – the first war in which AI systems have played a central role in generating Israel’s list of purported Hamas and Islamic jihad militants to target. Photograph: Sean Smith/The GuardianSo AI targeting systems did not invent this logic. But AI targeting is not simply a component that militaries incorporate into their operations. In the United States, the AI provisions of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act do not regulate military AI. AI systems used in targeting must be explainable – not via probability score but reasoning that a lawyer can audit.

Source: The Guardian March 15, 2026 17:31 UTC