The Palestinian’s lining up at the checkpoint near Hebron are being watched by the occupying army of the the IDF, but the child in the line looks up hesitantly at another eye, one that is not human, that of the camera, of the artificial intelligence powered gun that watches his every move.
If the repressive control of the wall that devides up the occupied Palestinian region is not enough, now they are watched over by automated weaponry supplied by Israel’s very own designer, developer, and manufacturer of AI weaponry Smart Shooter. The IDF claim that the gun only fires non-lethal projectiles such as tear gas or plastic bullets. We do not need to be reminded that the Israeli military’s word means nothing, the countless Palestinians that have died rising up against the occupying forces are testimony to what non-lethal means, just as any police force around the world, that are all resembling their own armed forces more and more.
The Smart Shooter gun relies upon facial and gesture recognition, that if it is deemed an agressive act or any act out of the ordinary is recorded, the automated weapon will fire on its own accord. This is the insanity of a techno-prison world we have arrived at now, where the prison that has been built around Palestine will now be guarded by all kinds of automation and robots. A kind of digital dehumanisation is occuring in the existence we occupy, where all actions, all decisions are being removed, even that of life and death.
The Israeli far-right state is no stranger to its use of technology to repress those who resist it. The Israeli security forces have used drones to drop tear gas on rioters and protesters several times on the border, even recently in the brutal repression on the Temple Mount. The same military tech company Smart Shooter have supplied them with an armed drone system to hit stationary and moving targets while flying, named SMASH Dragon. With “One Shot – One Hit” precision, the SMASH is also based on Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, and Machine Learning technologies, SMASH is also designed to interconnect with other operational resources to form a micro-tactical network that delivers real-time situational awareness. It can incorporate various types of assault rifles, sniper rifles, 40mm, and other ammunition. According to reports, the concept has completed live-fire testing and is at an “advanced stage of development.” Continue reading “‘Staring down the barrel of an artificially intelligent gun’”