'AI is being used for mass assassinations in Gaza': Julian Assange makes shocking claim

The ongoing multi-front attacks by Israel targeting Iran-backed pro-Palestinian militias in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and Lebanon are turning out to be one of the deadliest ever in the more than seven-decade-long conflict. According to Palestinian health authorities, until July 2024, more than 41,500 people were killed in Gaza, while others put the figures over 30,000 till now.

Death toll in Gaza and Lebanon

In Lebanon, where Israel started its bombing campaign less than two weeks ago, the health ministry said over two thousand people have been killed so far. The relentless air and ground assaults have also left civilian infrastructure in Gaza and South Lebanon severely damaged, leaving millions homeless.

'AI used for mass assassinations'

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has claimed that artificial intelligence (AI) is being used "to create mass assassinations" in Gaza.

"As I emerge from prison, I see that artificial intelligence is being used to create mass assassinations," Assange, who made his first public statement since his release in June this year, said.

"Where before there was a difference between assassination and warfare, now the two are conjoined, where many, perhaps the majority, of targets in Gaza are bombed as a result of artificial intelligence targeting," Assange said.

The Wikileaks founder also alleged that surveillance data is being used to train AI to carry out such operations.

"Artificial intelligence needs information to come up with targets, or ideas, or propaganda. When we are talking about the use of artificial intelligence to conduct mass assassinations, surveillance data from telephones and the internet is key to training those algorithms," he said.