The AI-Powered War Machines Are Here
3/7/202651 min
The US military used AI tools for real-time targeting in its strikes on Iran. On this week’s On the Media, what recent conflicts can tell us about AI-powered weapons and the dangerous future of warfare. Plus, lessons on democratic resilience from around the world.
[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone interviews Siva Vaidhyanathan about how the U.S. military is using artificial intelligence in its strikes on Iran, and what can be gleaned from recent conflicts about the state of AI-powered warfare. Plus, what does accountability for war mean when AI is involved? Brooke also hears from Alan Rozenshtein, Senior Editor at Lawfare, about the Trump administration’s pressure campaign on AI company Anthropic.
[33:45] Brooke sits down with Zack Beauchamp, senior correspondent at Vox, to talk about why he got fed up reporting on “democratic backsliding,” and decided to instead investigate “democratic resilience”— and what lessons exist for Americans around the world.
Further reading / watching:
- “Who’s Deciding Where the Bombs Drop in Iran? Maybe Not Even Humans.” by Siva Vaidyanathan
- “Congress—Not the Pentagon or Anthropic—Should Set Military AI Rules,” by Alan Z. Rozenshtein
- “What the Defense Production Act Can and Can’t Do to Anthropic,” by Alan Z. Rozenshtein
- The Reactionary Spirit: How America's Most Insidious Political Tradition Swept the World, by Zack Beauchamp
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsBrooke Gladstone· Host0:00
The US military is using AI tools to identify targets in its strikes on Iran even as the government feuds with the maker of that same technology.
Speaker 10:09
President Trump in his Truth Social post criticized Anthropic for being far left and for being woke. They're trying to impose essentially a sanctions regime.
Brooke Gladstone· Host0:18
When disagreeing with the government can put you out of business. From WNYC in New York, I'm Brooke Gladstone. Wanna see modern AI-powered weaponry at work? Check out Ukraine, where both sides are using these.
Siva Vaidhyanathan· Guest0:31
A hovering drone that stays far enough up in the atmosphere that it's almost impossible to even sense from the ground, and it's poised to strike.
Brooke Gladstone· Host0:42
Plus, nations that have recently struggled to preserve their democracies offer some possible scenarios for the US.
Speaker 10:49
Ping-ponging between authoritarianism and democracy, which is frightening to think about, but it could very well be the future.
Brooke Gladstone· Host0:55
All coming up after this.
Speaker 30:58
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Speaker 41:21
WNYC Studios is supported by Odoo. When you buy business software from lots of vendors, the costs add up, and it gets complicated and confusing.