AI still not making kill decisions in drone warfare: expert

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Artificial intelligence is not making decisions to strike human targets in modern warfare, but remains a supporting tool for military operations, said drone warfare expert Federico Borsari.

“AI is still used, at least based on the evidence we have, as a supporting technology, rather than replacing entirely a human from the targeting process. So the human remains in or on the loop when it comes to taking the decision to engage the target or to abort the mission,” Borsari told Rudaw’s Zana Kayani in a remote interview.

Bosari is a Non-Resident Fellow with the Transatlantic Defense and Security Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) and a member of the NATO 2030 Global Fellowship.

He explained that AI enhances reconnaissance, detection, and targeting accuracy, while humans remain responsible for engagement decisions.

Borsari added that countries, including the US, Israel, and Russia, use AI-assisted systems, particularly in drones, but none have publicly demonstrated fully autonomous lethal decision-making.