Hegseth Pressed On Use Of AI Targeting In Bombing Of Iran School

The Democratic lawmakers cited the Times' reporting in their letter, writing that they“are particularly disturbed” by the school bombing, which President Donald Trump initially – and without evidence – tried to pin on Iran before later saying he didn't“know enough about it” to assign blame.

According to the Times, the school strike“was the result of a targeting mistake by the US military, which was conducting strikes on an adjacent Iranian base of which the school building was formerly a part.”

The US military has confirmed using AI tools in its illegal war on Iran, which is being carried out in partnership with Israeli forces that have used artificial intelligence extensively in their assault on the Gaza Strip.

“Our war fighters are leveraging a variety of advanced AI tools,” Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of the US Central Command, said in a video message released Wednesday.“These systems help us sift through vast amounts of data in seconds so our leaders can cut through the noise and make smarter decisions faster than the enemy can react.”

NBC News reported earlier this week that the US military is“using AI systems from data analytics company Palantir to identify potential targets in the ongoing attacks.”

“The use of Palantir's software, which relies in part on Anthropic's Claude AI systems, comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth aims to put artificial intelligence at the heart of America's combat operations,” the outlet noted.