US military confirms use of ‘advanced AI tools’ in war against Iran

Admiral Brad Cooper says artificial intelligence is helping process data, but humans are making final decisions.

The United States military has confirmed using a “variety” of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the war with Iran amid growing concerns over mounting civilian casualties in the conflict.

Brad Cooper, head of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), said on Wednesday that AI is helping US soldiers process troves of data.

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“Our war fighters are leveraging a variety of advanced AI tools. These systems help us sift through vast amounts of data in seconds so our leaders can cut through the noise and make smarter decisions faster than the enemy can react,” Cooper said in a video message.

“Humans will always make final decisions on what to shoot and what not to shoot and when to shoot, but advanced AI tools can turn processes that used to take hours and sometimes even days into seconds.”

The confirmation comes as calls grow for an independent investigation into the bombing of a school in southern Iran that killed more than 170 people, mostly children.

The US-Israeli campaign has killed more than 1,250 people in Iran since it began on February 28.

Although Cooper stressed that humans are making final targeting decisions, there have been growing concerns by rights experts over the use of AI in war.

Several reports have confirmed that Israel relied heavily on AI during its genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians since October 2023 and turned most of the territory into rubble.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society said on Wednesday that the US-Israeli bombardment campaign has damaged nearly 20,000 civilian buildings and 77 healthcare facilities.

Strikes have also hit oil depots, several street markets, sports venues, schools and a water desalination plant, according to Iranian officials.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has been seeking greater access to technological tools for military usage.

Coinciding with the assault on Iran, Washington has been locked in a public fight with Anthropic after the tech firm – which had a contract with the Pentagon – insisted that its AI models not be used for fully autonomous weapons and mass surveillance.

Anthropic sued the Trump administration after Washington blacklisted the company as a “supply chain risk”, practically banning it from doing direct or indirect business with the government agencies.

“America’s warfighters supporting Operation Epic Fury and every mission world wide will never be held hostage by unelected tech executives and Silicon Valley ideology,” Pentagon spokeswoman Kingsley Wilson said in a statement last week.

“We will decide, we will dominate, and we will win.”