A Russian drone operator launches a Molniya-2 drone. A Russian drone controlled entirely by an experimental artificial intelligence system killed three civilians in Zaporizhzhia, as reported by The New York Times (NYT).
Russian drones targeted a gas station on July 6, resulting in the deaths of a 19-year-old university student and two men aged 41 and 48. The aftermath of the strike on the gas station in Zaporizhzhia was devastating.
The information provided by Ukrainian drone experts, military officials, and forensic investigators who examined the wreckage of the drone responsible for the attack, along with other Russian Molniya drones that struck Zaporizhzhia, forms the basis of the NYT’s report. They believe that the drones operated autonomously for the following reasons:
– Lack of antennas for communication with an operator, equipped only with video cameras.
– The drones flew in a group of six, without transmitting radio signals.
– The drones were launched in waves at Zaporizhzhia, with multiple attacks occurring consecutively.
– Internal investigations revealed Nvidia Jetson Orin minicomputers in the drones, which are responsible for decision-making processes due to their advanced AI capabilities.
– The Nvidia minicomputer in the drone that caused the deaths was found to be unencrypted, allowing experts to access terrain images loaded into the module, aiding the drone in staying on course and identifying targets.
The operational process of the drones involves an operator programming a specific target for the drone, such as a gas station. As the drone approaches, it autonomously selects its final target based on prior training, like propane tanks, and executes the attack.
Ukrainian officials showcased evidence where some Russian AI-equipped drones exploded during the attack, while others remained intact. The wreckage of two drones with Nvidia modules was presented as proof. However, the wreckage of the drone responsible for the civilian deaths was not displayed in the NYT article. Ukraine uncovered similar wreckage, including cameras and minicomputers, even before the July 6 attack.
Both Russia and Ukraine are exploring AI applications in various drone models. Previously, machine vision was implemented in the final stages of an attack for automatic target locking, after manual selection by the operator. Fully autonomous AI aims to eliminate human involvement in the final targeting phase.
Ukraine claimed that Russia had been testing autonomous AI drones in Zaporizhzhia since May. Simultaneously, Ukraine’s armed forces in Russian-annexed Crimea are conducting their trials on AI systems for independent target selection, as per former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. No casualties have been reported from these tests thus far.
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