Ukraine is rapidly training artificial intelligence to control drones: Reuters

Ukraine is actively developing artificial intelligence technologies for controlling drones. The Armed Forces of Ukraine have at their disposal millions of hours of video footage from drones, which are used to train artificial intelligence to make independent decisions during combat operations.
The future of military operations increasingly depends on the use of artificial intelligence, and Ukraine has a unique advantage in this area – a huge amount of video data from drones. These materials, which already amount to millions of hours, can be used to train artificial intelligence models to make operational decisions on the battlefield, the agency writes Reuters.
Oleksandr Dmytriev, the founder of the Ukrainian non-profit system OCHI, which analyzes the videos of more than 15,000 drone crews, told the agency that his platform has accumulated more than 2 million hours of combat footage.
“This is real food for AI. If you want to train it, give it 2 million hours and it will become extremely efficient” Dmitriev noted.
A huge amount of data from the OCHI platform allows training artificial intelligence: to recognize and classify targets, to determine optimal trajectories and angles for the use of weapons, as well as to analyze the effectiveness of various types of weapons.
“It’s experience that can be turned into mathematical algorithms,” Dmitriev added.
The OCHI system, developed in 2022, was originally designed to provide commanders with a real-time overview of combat operations. Over time, it became clear that video footage could also serve as a valuable source for analysis and preservation as an archive of war. Every day, the system adds 5-6 terabytes of new data, which significantly expands the possibilities for training artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence plays a key role in modern warfare. Both sides of the conflict use it for target recognition and operational data analysis.
Samuel Bendett, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, told the agency that this kind of data is critical to teaching machines to recognize objects and make decisions:
“Humans do this intuitively, but machines need training to understand what is a road, an obstacle or an ambush.”
Ukraine actively uses artificial intelligence to automate military processes. For example, the “Avengers” platform, developed by the Ministry of Defense, centralizes video footage from drones and surveillance cameras. This system detects up to 12 thousand units of Russian equipment every week thanks to artificial intelligence algorithms. In addition, artificial intelligence technologies are used for automated control of groups of drones and demining of territories.
At the same time, Russia is also using artificial intelligence in its military equipment, in particular in the Lancet attack drones. These drones have demonstrated high effectiveness against Ukrainian armored vehicles, which indicates the ability of artificial intelligence to accurately hit targets.