Thread

US Military had close call after using AI for hallucinated intelligence report

519 points · 396 comments · realsarm

jameson · 1789755937 · focus · HN ↗
It reminds me of the an Soviet officer who disobeyed early warning system's alert that US had launched four ICBMs and did not immediately relay the issue up to the chain of command.
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Soviet_nuclear_false_alarm_incident" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Soviet_nuclear_false_alar...
1. JumpCrisscross · 1789756247 · focus · HN ↗
  It reminds me of laughing at the stupid old Europeans starting a war because an Austrian numpty got himself shot in Serbia. Like, we almost sunk a Chinese ship because an AI thought the sour candies they were transporting were nukes is in the same category of shitheadedness. (I'm embellishing–we don't know what was on board.)
  1. stefs · 1789758623 · focus · HN ↗
    the assassination of archduke franz ferdinand was just the trigger but not the reason. the war would have started anyway.
    cogman10 · 1789759708 · focus · HN ↗
    It's complicated.
    WW1 happened due to the crazy web of treaties between nations. It's not unlike nuclear holocaust and MAD doctrine. There could have been other triggers for WW1, but that's not really a guarantee.
    That is to say, definitely possible and maybe even likely but not inevitable.
    jyounker · 1789760470 · focus · HN ↗
    There's an argument to be made that WWI started because Wilhelm II was an incompetent statesman who disassembled his country's relationship with friendly states, and turned them into enemies.
    giantrobot · 1789781865 · focus · HN ↗
    Good thing that won't ever happen again!

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