Iran looks to AI to weather Western sanctions, help military to fight 'on the cheap'

Iran has made it no secret that it plans to invest heavily in artificial intelligence (AI) to help better its military capabilities, but Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is now turning to Iran's private sector in a move he thinks will boost his crippling economy. On Sunday, Raisi met with private sector companies to announce Tehran's intent to invest in digital businesses. Raisi claimed the move would not only help develop Iran's AI capabilities, but help achieve his goal to grow the economy by 8%, reported pro-government media outlet Tasnim News Agency. However, experts remain skeptical about whether the move will actually fix Iran's economic woes and said they are more concerned by the abilities AI would grant Tehran when it comes to the battlefield. An Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicle, the Shahed-136, is being displayed at Azadi Square in western Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 11, 2024, during a rally to mark the 45th anniversary of the victory of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.