Iran Battle: The First "AI War" in History

Written by: Long Yue

Source: Wall Street Insights

In the U.S.-Israel military operations against Iran, artificial intelligence was used on a large scale for the first time in combat, which may be the first “AI war” in history.

According to the latest report from The Wall Street Journal, from intelligence gathering, target selection, to mission planning and battle damage assessment, the involvement of AI tools has significantly improved the efficiency of military operations. In recent conflicts, the U.S.-Israel coalition used AI to process massive amounts of data, quickly identify targets, and optimize resource allocation.

However, beyond efficiency, AI has also brought the cost of mistakes to the forefront. In the complex and ever-changing battlefield environment, the limitations of AI have been fully exposed. Data aging, system errors, and over-reliance on machine decision-making can lead to catastrophic consequences, including civilian casualties.

Intelligence Processing: From “Unmanageable” to “Retrievable”

Military strikes start with intelligence, but the bottleneck in traditional processes is “information overload.” A frontline U.S. military officer said that human analysts can typically review only about 4% of intelligence material.

Yishai Kohn, a colonel in charge of planning at the Israeli Ministry of Defense, specializing in economics and IT, said, “The biggest immediate impact of AI is on intelligence,” “Many potential missions never happen because there aren’t enough personnel to evaluate critical intelligence.”

Reports indicate that Israel’s intelligence agencies have long monitored hacked traffic cameras in Tehran and intercepted communications of high-level officials, increasingly relying on AI to sift through the vast intercepted information for usable clues.

AI’s machine vision can quickly identify targets from massive videos and images, even distinguishing specific models of aircraft or vehicles. It can also extract and summarize relevant conversations from intercepted audio. Matan Goldner, CEO of Israeli software company Conntour, said, “Intelligence agencies now have vast amounts of video data, and current AI enables them to detect precisely what they need within this sea of data.”

Accelerated Mission Planning: From “Weeks” to “Days”

Beyond intelligence processing, AI also shows potential in mission planning and logistics management. Traditional military planning requires collaboration among intelligence officers, combat commanders, weapons experts, and logistics personnel, taking several weeks to complete. The involvement of AI can shorten this process to just a few days.

During planning, any change in details (such as target location shifts) can trigger chain reactions affecting crew scheduling, flight plans, and fuel consumption. In the past, updating these factors was slow and subjective. Now, AI can instantly process complex interactions and calculate the impact of each change on overall military deployment.

The Pentagon is increasingly using AI-driven models and digital war games to optimize target priorities and develop operational plans. By processing millions of iterative scenarios, planners can quickly identify the most likely successful course of action.

The Double-Edged Sword of Technology: Efficiency Gains and Potential Risks

The application of AI in warfare still carries significant risks, as war is one of the most chaotic and complex human activities.

Jack Shanahan, the Pentagon’s first AI chief and retired Air Force Major General, pointed out that a major challenge in building military AI is that much of the data used for training is outdated or unclear. Additionally, errors and inaccuracies in AI systems can have deadly consequences on the battlefield. Reports suggest that U.S. military investigators believe that on the first day of war, intelligence errors may have led to dozens of children dying in a girls’ elementary school in Iran.

Even more concerning is the over-reliance on AI decision-making. Emelia Probasco, senior researcher at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, warned that delegating decision-making to AI “is a serious issue.” She emphasized the need for safeguards to limit risks, noting that current infrastructure investments in this area are still insufficient. In war, human judgment remains irreplaceable.