The Ethics of AI in Military Decision-Making: Unpacking “Lavender” and its Impact
Summary: This article explores how the Israeli military’s AI program, “Lavender,” designed to rapidly identify and approve potential targets for military strikes, has led to significant ethical concerns. The technology aims to relieve human personnel from the cumbersome task of data processing, but has raised questions about the morality of machine-led targeting, especially given its application in identifying individuals, including non-combatants, for possible airstrikes.
In a world where technology is rapidly evolving, the increase in artificial intelligence (AI) applications within military operations is inevitable. A groundbreaking book by an anonymous author with high standing in the Israeli intelligence community laid out a vision for integrating AI with human decision-making to effectively target in times of war. Little did readers know, this concept had already been realized through an AI program named “Lavender,” which was pivotal during military operations in the Gaza Strip.
The program’s main task was to sift through voluminous data to identify targets for military strikes. Designed by the Israeli army, Lavender played a decisive role in the early stages of the war, marking thousands of individuals for potential bombings. However, these marked individuals were not exclusively operatives; they included civilians, revealing a stark dichotomy in military ethics and the value of human life.
