On June 8, Vladimir Putin ordered his two grown daughters and their three children to hide in the palatial family bunker on the Black Sea after learning that an AI-powered facial recognition technology had hunted down Iran’s supreme leader in February. Israeli intelligence had created a “Killer AI” that extracted video from all of Tehran’s CCTV traffic cameras to identify faces, movements, and habits of its top leaders. It knew where they all were at any given time. Putin was already heavily guarded and always flanked by bodyguards, stand-in doubles, and food tasters for protection.
However, Israel’s frightening invention and Ukraine’s extraordinary AI expertise made it clear that there was nowhere to hide. So he made changes and shut down a specialized CCTV network to prevent it from being exploited or hacked. Then, in May, Russia claimed Ukraine had tried to assassinate Putin with a drone attack on the Kremlin and used that as an excuse to impose widespread internet restrictions and localized blackouts on all Russian people. Noted a newspaper: “Putin is afraid of cameras.”
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After Putin became alarmed, according to reliable reports, he also revamped the security protocols for himself and everyone around him. Even so, on June 10, another high-ranking Russian general was blown up as his car sped through Moscow’s streets late at night. Roughly 15 Russian military leaders have been assassinated so far, and, embarrassingly, the attack occurred close to a spot where, one year ago, another high-ranking general was killed in a similar car bomb attack. Russian state media also reported there had been an attempt to kill an employee of a scientific-industrial enterprise that evening.
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All fingers pointed at Ukraine. But little is known about the clandestine Ukrainian networks or “black ops” operating inside Russia and Russia-controlled territories. They are successful and have been assassinating and attacking with increasing frequency, which is another reason why Putin has embarked on a draconian security clampdown.
However, Israel’s “AI target production machine” represents another level of danger. It is deadlier and was developed in conjunction with the US military. The Israeli AI operation to assassinate the Ayatollah and others began by hacking all of Tehran’s traffic cameras so that its AI could determine the Supreme Leader’s previous movements and companions. It extracted video footage from these cameras over many years to analyze behavior. It knew who would meet whom, when, and where.
The system analyzed all this footage, visual intelligence, and taped communications to build profiles for targeting purposes. The Ayatollah’s daily schedule, locales, and security measures were documented. And just before the target was identified and destroyed in February, Israelis disabled all of Iran’s cellular networks to prevent warnings.
Putin also knows that Ukrainians have surpassed Israel and everyone else technologically during the war. They have killer drones armed with AI that can identify Russian soldiers on a battlefield by recognizing facial contours and heat signatures. “A (Russian) soldier can walk across the field. Then he hears a drone flying overhead. He sits down, covering himself with his coat. T
hen the drone attacks, and he doesn’t go anymore,” explained a Ukrainian border guard in an interview with a Kyiv newspaper. Some Russians use special coats with ballistic protection that also aim to prevent their identification as enemies, but these coats do not work. “We can see them (Russians) from a kilometer. They are especially visible during such cold weather. And also at night, when they are moving,” he said.
However, Israel’s Killer AI goes further and is essentially a “Big Brother” surveillance system. For instance, once anyone has been identified, the system generates detailed profiles of their movements, personal information from databases, and interactions. “Intelligence officials told the FT [Financial Times] that these modern systems already go beyond conventional facial or number plate recognition and enable the analysis of behavioural patterns, including people’s movements, relationships, changes in appearance, and recurring vehicle or walking routes.
Capabilities like these are raising concerns in various countries, as they effectively turn urban camera networks into tools for mass analysis and surveillance. Once identified, the system automatically generates a detailed profile of an individual’s movements and interactions.”
(Note: China already has in place such a surveillance system with 200 million deployed CCTV cameras and microphones which monitor its population, allegedly to prevent crimes in public spaces.)
However, Israel’s AI goes a step further and can even identify obscured faces because it uses a neural network to identify 14 features on a face, which it then compares to its photo libraries. Once made aware of this, Putin must have panicked, which is why Russia moved rapidly to counteract the possibility that such Western AI could locate him or that, alternatively, Putin’s rivals could eliminate him.
This year, drastic shutdowns began, and restrictions on Putin’s inner circle were also put in place. Anyone in contact with the dictator – from generals to chefs – cannot use internet-connected cellphones. They are required to use government transport only, not private vehicles, so that their movements can be monitored. Now the Kremlin has once again become a fortress and is completely wired and surveilled, as are the residences of all its staff. Some workers have been relocated to shelters, and anti-drone teams plus snipers are everywhere in Moscow.
Technology has turned Putin and the Russians into prey, instead of predators. Russia’s gigantic military is being shredded in the war and is slowly losing to Ukraine. Russia’s economy is being decimated as Ukraine’s $500 drones destroy or disable tanks worth millions. Kyiv’s digitized kill zone and drone army have turned the battlefield into a “turkey shoot” where 325,000 Russians have been killed just since February.
The estimated number of Russians killed or wounded since February 2022 totals at least 1.2 million. Worse, the war is a stalemate that won’t end as long as Putin remains in charge. Fortunately, the difference now is that Putin’s biggest enemy is technology, and he knows that the war will end, whether he wants it to happen or not. It will end once there is an AI Killer with his name on it.
Reprinted with the permission of the author. This original can be found here.
The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily of Kyiv Post.
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