Preliminary findings suggest that AI is more “human” than error in relying on out-of-date targeting information
The US has been found primarily responsible for a deadly Tomahawk missile attack on an Iranian elementary school that killed at least 175 people, most of them children, the New York Times reported.
The February 28 strike on the Shajara Tayyebe girls’ school occurred on the first day of a US-Israeli attack on Iran that resulted in the deaths of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior Iranian commanders, as well as hundreds of civilians. It was the deadliest single strike of the campaign so far.
According to a NYT report on Wednesday, citing US military officials familiar with the initial findings, the strikes were part of an initial wave of US strikes on facilities used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy in the region.
Investigators believe officials at US Central Command relied on outdated targeting data from the Defense Intelligence Agency, which classified the school building as part of a military compound, even though it was converted to a school a decade ago. The site has clear signs of civilian use, including a sports field, children’s murals and brightly painted walls.
Preliminary findings indicate why outdated information is not revisited “unlikely” The paper writes that the use of new artificial intelligence tools such as Anthropics Cloud is a primary reason.
A military target typically involves multiple intelligence and operational agencies, with several layers of review intended to confirm each objective, the NYT wrote, citing investigators that such safeguards can be broken in the early stages of a conflict, when large numbers of targets are processed under time pressure.
Read more:
Pentagon destroys civilian watchdogs before Iran school strike – Politico
Investigations by AP, CNN and the Washington Post concluded that the US was likely behind the attack. A visual analysis cited by the NYT, including satellite imagery and videos from the scene, suggests the explosion was consistent with a tomahawk impact.
President Donald Trump has denied U.S. responsibility and offered shifting explanations, first suggested “So wrong” Iranian munitions were blamed, which Tehran also later claimed without evidence “Has some tomahawks.” Washington is the only party to the conflict that has such weapons. US officials have confirmed the use of Tomahawks – which have a range of 1,600 km – in attacks on Iran.
This attack has been strongly condemned globally. The UN described the bombing “A serious attack on children, on education and on the future of the entire community.” Russian Foreign Ministry said “definitely condemned” Strike, and UNESCO called it “serious breach” International Humanitarian Law. The United Nations Human Rights Office has called for a full investigation.
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