The US military just used AI to help select over 1,000 targets during strikes on Iran. The Pentagon’s AI system called Maven Smart System helped commanders choose what to hit much faster than humans could alone.
This marks a major shift in how wars are fought. For the first time, artificial intelligence played a key role in picking targets during active combat operations. The military struck nearly double the number of targets compared to the Iraq “shock and awe” campaign 20 years ago.
From Google Protest to War Zone
The story behind this AI system is fascinating. It started as Project Maven in 2017, when the Pentagon partnered with Google to analyze drone footage. Google employees revolted, staging protests and threatening to quit over helping the military use AI for warfare. Google eventually pulled out of the project.
But the military kept building the system anyway. They worked with other tech companies to create Maven Smart System, which can scan through massive amounts of satellite images and drone footage to identify potential targets. Instead of human analysts spending hours reviewing data, the AI can process it in minutes.
The system doesn’t pick targets on its own – humans still make the final decisions. But it dramatically speeds up the process of finding and evaluating what to strike.
What’s Next
This successful use of AI in combat will likely accelerate military adoption of artificial intelligence. Other countries are racing to build similar systems. The Pentagon is already working on more advanced versions that could make targeting even faster and more precise in future conflicts.
