I will begin this article by using two common English words: Lavender and Gospel. You will have your own idea as to what those words mean to you. But in the context of Israel’s military might, they mean something entirely different.
Although they would fail to admit it publicly, there is no doubt that the head of the terror octopus (Iran) would be very surprised at how quickly Israel is effectively dealing with its terror proxy tentacles. Even though both Hamas and Hezbollah have invested decades and billions of dollars into its terror infrastructure, Israel is dismantling it all with far less difficulty than anybody imagined. Undoubtedly, God deserves the glory.
As this article will reveal, one of the ways God has blessed the nation of Israel is to provide them with ingenuity when it comes to warfare. As has now become apparent, there are two important pieces of Israel’s military infrastructure that have proven vital to its battlefield success. But as much as these tools have proven invaluable to Israel, they have also been the subject of international scrutiny as some people claim that the IDF is relying on artificial intelligence to indiscriminately and cruelly eliminate combatants and non-combatants alike. To deal with the growing criticism, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a press release on 18 June 2024 which said: “Media reports – relying on unidentified sources – have claimed that (a) these are systems that employ artificial intelligence to autonomously select targets for attack, and (b) they are used to attack targets inconsistent with international law. Both claims are completely false.”
So, what are these systems, what battlefield advantage do they provide the IDF and why is there growing concern over the use of artificial intelligence in warfare?
Lavender
When I use the word “Lavender”, you might immediately think of the aromatic plant. However, in the IDF, Lavender is an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tool. Technically speaking, Lavender is a smart database that collates information on individuals who might be members of Hamas or other organised armed groups.
According to the official IDF statement on the use of the program: “Lavender is a general-purpose database that organises and cross-references layers of several existing intelligence sources. It serves as a technical tool to help efficiently organise and connect data points relating to operatives in terror organisations in the Gaza Strip. This database is regularly updated and its data verified. Contrary to claims that appeared in certain reports, this is not a list of confirmed military operatives eligible to attack. Its use complements existing processes for identifying enemy militants and distinguishing them from civilians during military operations. In other words, the inclusion of a person in the database cannot be solely relied upon to identify him as a military operative that can be attacked.”
The IDF sought to clarify its use of Lavender on the battlefield due to the growing belief that the program was producing “kill lists” with little human oversight. Furthermore, the IDF sought to dispel concerns that Lavender has a predictive function that anticipates and marks anybody who might become a member of an enemy organisation. According to the IDF, Lavender is used to determine whether a particular person is a targetable member of an organised armed group or direct participant. If so, Lavender will provide all the data points collected on that individual to assist intelligence analysts to determine their likely location.
Gospel
In Hebrew, the word for Gospel is “Habsora” and is the name adopted for another AI-based battle management system. It is unknown why the IDF chose this particular term, but the usage of the program is explained by the IDF as follows: “As previously published by the IDF, this system was first utilised in an operational setting in 2021 during a previous operation against Hamas and other terrorist organisations in Gaza. It functions as a technical tool that fuses large amounts of data from across disparate datasets, and suggests to the intelligence analyst to focus his or her research on certain physical objects with greater potential of a military affiliation with the enemy.”
In other words, Gospel is an AI tool which helps IDF analysts determine which buildings and other objects may qualify as military installations. The program is thought to draw its information from sources such as satellite imagery, drone footage, cyber intelligence, phone intercepts, human intelligence, open-source information, and reports from ongoing operations. Considering it would take human analysts a significant amount of time to sift through such a large cache of data, Gospel is integral to the war effort by significantly limiting the time spent on analysis therefore allowing more time for the prosecution of the military objectives. Once again, critics of the IDF claim that Gospel is choosing targets with little human oversight. However, the IDF was quick to assure the public that Gospel simply generates suggestions for targets that may qualify as military objectives, with further assessment and approval of the target objective undertaken by human intelligence analysts.
Machine Learning In Warfare
Lavender and Gospel come under the umbrella of “machine learning targeting” and it would be naïve to believe that other nations are not also actively developing these tools. For example, the US began working on similar AI warfare systems in 2017 under the codename “Project Maven”. Any nation who is unable to keep step with advancements in AI warfare technology will be at a severe disadvantage when it comes to kinetic warfare.
Israel has demonstrated just how effective AI battlefield software can be. Who would have thought that the IDF would be able to effectively dismantle and destroy Hamas and Hezbollah within a little over a year? If this is the first real test of their AI offensive capabilities (as opposed to AI defensive capabilities with its missile defense system) then it has passed with flying colours.
But this works both ways. Israel’s enemies will do all they can to acquire similar technology, if they have not done so already. However, there is also somebody else who would be most interested in this technology and I say that because of a verse in Daniel 11:37-38: “He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. But in their place he shall honour a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honour with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things.” Of course, as you are probably aware, this is a description of the Antichrist.
This man, whoever he is, will worship war above all else. So, whilst we rejoice that Israel’s advanced technology has allowed the nation to decimate its enemies and protect its citizens, we also acknowledge that the Antichrist may ultimately secure the same technology and use it against the Jewish people. However, a remnant of Israel will ultimately be rescued by something even more powerful, or should I say, Someone far more powerful!
Revelation 19 describes the moment when the King of kings and Lord of lords will descend from Heaven. Verses 19-21 of that chapter read: “And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.”
