What happened?

  • The identity of the commander of the Israeli Unit 8200, an equivalent of NSA and GCHQ, was a closely guarded secret until a security breach led to his exposure.
  • Yossi Sariel, the unit’s commander, left a digital footprint when he published an electronic version of a book on Amazon’s website in 2021. The book, “The Human-Machine Team,” presents a radical vision of how artificial intelligence can change the relationship between military personnel and machines. It presents an email address associated with Sariel.
  • Published under the pen name “Brigadier General Y.S”, the book outlines the concept of an “AI-powered target machine” that resembles the target recommendation systems now used by the Israeli Defense Forces in strikes on Gaza.
  • Sariel’s exposure has been met with consternation in Israel, where he is facing increasing pressure and criticism for his “recklessness and lack of professionalism” in publishing a book about an advanced secret field he was entrusted with. The IDF has acknowledged the book’s exposure of his personal details as “a mistake”. [theguardian.com]
  • Sariel’s vision for using AI to transform modern warfare has been embraced by the IDF, which has been relying on AI-powered target recommendation systems in its bombardment of Gaza, leading to concerns that the prioritization of “addictive and exciting” technology over more old-fashioned intelligence methods contributed to the failure to prevent the 7 October attacks. [theguardian.com, liberation.fr]

What is Israeli media saying?

  • The IDF initially claimed the email address in the book was not Sariel’s personal email, but later stated that the exposure of the officer’s personal details was a mistake that will be investigated. [ynet.co.il, israelhayom.co.il, timesofisrael.com]
  • Sariel is a distinguished officer in the intelligence and cyber fields, who was awarded the prestigious Israel Security Prize in 2018 for a new AI-based project against terrorism, and his book aimed to establish him as an expert in the field. [ynet.co.il, israelhayom.co.il]

What is Arab media saying?

  • An investigation revealed that the Israeli military’s airstrikes in Gaza were carried out using a previously undisclosed AI-driven database named Lavender, which identified 37,000 targets on their apparent and unverified links to Hamas, and the officers cited in the report revealed that a major reason for the unprecedented death toll in Gaza was the army’s systematic attacks on targets in their private homes, alongside their families. [palestinechronicle.com]
  • The revelation has sparked a broader conversation about the role of technology and innovation within intelligence agencies, and the exposure of Sariel’s identity undermines the clandestine nature of Unit 8200’s operations. [palestinechronicle.com, almayadeen.net]

Media Sources:

  • aljazeera.net
  • palestinechronicle.com
  • almayadeen.net
  • spiegel.de
  • theguardian.com
  • timesofisrael.com
  • israelhayom.co.il
  • ynet.co.il
  • jpost.com
  • liberation.fr

Links: