The accuracy of the strikes against two merchant ships in the Black Sea may be a sign that there is artificial intelligence in the drones used. This was stated by software engineer Martin Kuvandzhiev in an interview with BNT. He emphasized that the claim has not been officially confirmed, but according to him, the way in which the vessels were hit indicates a higher degree of automation.
The two ships were attacked in the Bulgarian exclusive economic zone. According to BNT, air and sea drones were used. One ship sank, while the second was hit and a fire broke out on board. Its crew was rescued. So far, there is no official information about whose drones they are.
„The way we can solve this problem is to make local artificial intelligence that works in the drones themselves“, said Martin Kuvanjiev.Navigation without GPS
According to the software engineer, the main advantage of such a system is the ability of the drone to continue to navigate when the GPS signal is lost or jammed. Instead of relying solely on satellite navigation, the machine can use its cameras to recognize objects, relief and other features of the environment.
„They no longer need GPS navigation, they need navigation through vision“, explained Kuvanjiev. He compared the technology to the behavior of a person who is lost and uses his eyes to find his way.
Target recognition and route selection
Kuvandzhiev pointed out that artificial intelligence can also assist in the selection of objects for observation or attack. The software can analyze a camera image, detect people, military objects or equipment and indicate likely targets for the operator.
According to him, the systems can process images from thermal cameras, recognize tanks and calculate a suitable route to a given target. This does not necessarily mean that the decision to use force is made independently by the machine, but it shortens the time between observation, analysis and command.
“Artificial intelligence always supports and accelerates human operations“, said the software engineer.
The technology is already being used in war
Kuvandzhiev said that Ukraine is already using computing platforms from major chip manufacturers, which are embedded in drones to improve operations. According to him, the Ukrainian head of the Air Force has indicated that Russia is also using similar technologies.
At the same time, Kuvanzhiev presented as his own assumption the thesis that the shorter intervals between Russian attacks and more precise strikes may be related to automation and artificial intelligence. He did not provide any specific evidence to establish the presence of such a system in the drones that attacked the ships off Bulgaria.
Warning about autonomous systems
The software engineer also said that according to a study, 90% of people in Europe have already used artificial intelligence at least once, but only 6% know how to use it correctly. He linked the development of the operating systems of the device itself to military applications and warned of the risk if autonomous machines start processing information and making decisions without sufficient human control.
“This is the danger - that they will turn against us“, said Kuvanjiev.
Sources: bntnews.bg