Billionaire Peter Thiel’s company Palantir, which specializes in big data analytics, is launching the Palantir Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), a software aimed at running large language models such as GPT-4 and its alternatives on private networks. Palantir shows in one of its promotional videos how an army can use AIP in a war.In the shared video, the operator orders drone reconnaissance, creates various attack plans, and organizes the interception of enemy communications using a ChatGPT-style chatbot.
scary scenario
In Palantir’s scenario, a “military operator responsible for monitoring activities in Eastern Europe” receives a warning from AIP that an enemy is gathering military equipment near friendly forces. The operator then asks the chatbot to show more details, gets some more information, and then asks the AI to predict possible situations.
The video obviously has some great (that word might not fit here) indications of what modern warfare would be like. The operator asks the artificial intelligence to provide better pictures after the guess. Launching a Reaper MQ-9 drone to take a photo, the operator discovers a T-80 tank, a Soviet-era Russian vehicle, near friendly forces. The real big deal explodes here. The AI is asked what can be done about this enemy target. AIP offers the operator three possible operational plans: F-16, long-range artillery and Javelin missiles. According to the video, the AI even knows if nearby troops have enough Javelin to complete the mission.An open letter to the future
Palantir’s presentation is of course incredibly dangerous and bizarre. While there is a “human in the loop” in the AIP demo, we see that human actions are directly dependent on what the AI has to offer. Unmanned armed drones have long been criticized for abstracting warfare. Palantir’s vision further embodies the situation and war, automating the process almost completely. Although the company uses words like “ethical” and “right”, the worrying side of the case is bigger.On the other hand, half of the video is an example of the use of AI in the military, and the other half is a view of the backend of the system. Palantir says it combines AIP with tweaks to open source major language models. The company also talks about how military AI platforms such as AIP will be more secure, but does not detail how this can be done. It is also underlined that AIP will create a secure digital record of operations.
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