• AI Is Not The Sacred Grail - At Least It Was Not In Syria

    December 18, 2024
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    If you have knowledge, let others light their candles with it (Winston Churchill)

    Flowers on the Khan As'ad Pasha inside pool. Damascus, Syria
    Image by LBM1948

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    I have met an angel in person, and she looks perfect1. Do you want to drive to somewhere for the first time? Try AI. Do you need to discuss Plato? Try AI. Do you need to translate a text from Chinese to ancient Arameo? Try IA. Our lives have been touched by something that may deliver us two assets we most appreciate: predictability and accuracy. AI’s predictions, we are told, are the actionable insights derived from analyzing and interpreting the data through the chosen algorithms. Predictions can take various forms, from forecasting future trends to classifying data points or identifying potential anomalies2. The value of AI-fueled predictions lies in their accuracy and relevance, as they can help you make informed decisions, anticipate future trends, or identify opportunities and risks. Isn't that wonderful? Well, just sort of.

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    But, I'm in love (love, love, love, love)3. Predictive artificial intelligence (AI) involves how to use statistical analysis and machine learning (ML) to identify patterns, anticipate behaviors, and forecast upcoming events. Organizations use predictive AI to predict potential future outcomes, causation, risk exposure, and more4. The quoted author adds that “Predictive AI reaches its conclusions by analyzing thousands of factors and potentially many decades of data. These predictions can help organizations prepare for future trends” Furthermore, AI predictive analytics uses machine learning (ML) algorithms and models that learn from data over time. These models are trained on historical data, to identify patterns and relationships. Once trained, the models are applied to new, unseen data to predict future outcomes. The author remarks this is not about crystal gazing, but about making informed estimations based on solid data-backed insights 5.

    I need you so, very much and clear6. Thus, it is hardly surprising that private and public sectors use AI tools extensively. For instance, in war zones such as civil-war-torn Syria, decisions should be made based on AI-gathered data. A specialist wrote just last October that “in conflict zones, AI can be employed to gather and analyze data related to demographics, economic conditions, and social sentiments. Using predictive modeling, AI can help identify potential flashpoints and areas at risk of escalation” However, the quoted article focuses on AI as a tool to help reach a peaceful solution to the perennial conflicts that ravage the Middle East. Furthermore, the author emphasizes the important role of “the human element in conflict resolution (process)” 7.

    In Syria, all the key war players command AI tools - even to target their attacks using the contentious AI-DSS - this tool can be defined as one “ that uses AI techniques to analyze data, provide actionable recommendations, and ‘assist decision-makers situated at different levels in the chain of command to solve semi-structured and unstructured decision tasks’8. Therefore, in Syria, it is legitimately assumed that AI tools amassed and processed a huge amount of data stored not only in official databases (somewhat permeable to regimen´s manipulation) but also in the freer social media field. For example, Facebook and Instagram published several posts and stories describing the appalling matériel conditions and low spirits that dismayed the Syrian regime army.

    I told you am am troubled, you know that I am no good9. In December, after a four-year stalemate, the Syrian regime collapsed in a few days like falling pieces of dominoes. No foreign Government nor intelligence agency was able to predict that astonishing outcome - it was an appalling omission: nobody saw it coming. AI tools, with all their might, did not predict the fall of the infamous House of Assad - not that they contributed to enhancing the reputation of those agencies whose decision-making process relies on them.

    I've got me and all your reasons10 It is too soon to jump to a conclusion about the reasons for that bluff. Probably there were several - the scantly Arabic language-trained databases may be one of them11. Whatever the reasons are, keep in mind that Google's Bard claimed the James Webb Space Telescope "took the very first pictures of a planet outside of our own solar system," Microsoft's Bing said a cease-fire was reached in the Israel-Hamas conflict, and AI Overviews once famously advised users to put glue on their pizzas. Accordingly, AI saw the Syrian regime as a stable one…

    1. “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran
    2. See: “How to Use AI for Predictive Analytics and Smarter Decision Making” https://shelf.io/blog/ai-for-predictive-analytics/
    3. “My Future”, by Billie Eilish O'Connell / Finneas Baird O'Connell
    4. What is predictive AI by Tim Mucci, IBM Staff Writer, https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/predictive-ai
    5. See: “How to Use AI for Predictive Analytics and Smarter Decision Making”, https://shelf.io/blog/ai-for-predictive-analytics/
    6. I Need You So Bad, by Allan. https://www.letras.com/allan/1771895/
    7. See “Can AI Solve the Current Middle East Conflicts?”, by Amine Ayoub, for the Middle East Forum Fellow. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/can-ai-solve-current-middle-east-conflicts-amine-ayoub-uhdle/
    8. See: “Symposium on Military AI and the Law of Armed Conflict: The ‘Need’ for Speed – The Cost of Unregulated AI Decision-Support Systems to Civilians”, by Marta.Bo, https://opiniojuris.org/2024/04/04/symposium-on-military-ai-and-the-law-of-armed-conflict-the-need-for-speed-the-cost-of-unregulated-ai-decision-support-systems-to-civilians/
    9. “ You know I am no good”, by Amy Winehouse
    10. “My + all your reasons”, by Ashley Glenn Gorley / Ernest Keith Smith / Morgan Wallen / Ryan Vojtesak
    11. I foud a most interesting article about this point: “Syrian journalists and Artificial Intelligence: “keeping abreast” despite restrictions”, by Muhammed Fansa | Hassan Ibrahim | Yamen Moghrabi | Hussam al-Mahmoud. https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2023/08/syrian-journalists-and-artificial-intelligence-keeping-abreast-despite-restrictions/
              

    Author

    Martín Francisco Elizalde

    Martin Elizalde is an Argentine lawyer based in Buenos Aires. His areas of practice include forensic analysis, cyber security and artificial intelligence.
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