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Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

(www.theguardian.com)
873 points helsinkiandrew | 3 comments | 25 Sep 25 15:06 UTC | HN request time: 0.02s | source
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bArray ◴[25 Sep 25 16:11 UTC] No.45374662[source]▶
The issue that people have with Israel's actions is the death of civilians, not the death of Hamas, the widely recognised terrorist. I believe it also to be true that the IDF do not want to kill civilians, and that their target is only Hamas.

In which case, is it prudent to remove the IDF's ability to successfully target the correct people? Precise military intelligence is absolutely necessary for minimising civilian casualties.

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roughly ◴[25 Sep 25 16:17 UTC] No.45374746[source]▶
> I believe it also to be true that the IDF do not want to kill civilians, and that their target is only Hamas.

I think it’s this second assertion that relies on facts not in evidence. Previous Guardian reporting on IDF use of compute for targeting indicated they were using it to increase, not decrease, the number of approved targets.

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1. flumpcakes ◴[25 Sep 25 16:53 UTC] No.45375356[source]▶
Quantity doesn't correlate with accuracy. OP's point was that surely having more intelligence means you are more accurate and thus less collateral damage.
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2. bArray ◴[25 Sep 25 17:18 UTC] No.45375789[source]▶
Exactly. And an increase in accurate targets would lead to the faster removal of Hamas, and the process of repair can begin faster.
3. roughly ◴[25 Sep 25 17:51 UTC] No.45376329[source]▶
Again, prior reporting on the IDF’s computational efforts do not indicate that less collateral damage was a driver - quite the contrary, the algorithm was being used to pad out targeting lists: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/03/israel-gaza-ai...

You’re describing what ought to be, not what currently is.