Russia Probably Has Not Used AI-Enabled Weapons in Ukraine, but That Could Change

In March, WIRED ran a story with the headline "Russia's Killer Drone in Ukraine Raises Fears About AI in Warfare," with the subtitle, "The maker of the lethal drone claims that it can identify targets using artificial intelligence." The story focused on the KUB-BLA, a small kamikaze drone aircraft that smashes itself into enemy targets and detonates an onboard explosive. The KUB-BLA is made by ZALA Aero, a subsidiary of the Russian weapons manufacturer Kalashnikov (best known as the maker of the AK-47), which itself is partly owned by Rostec, a part of Russia's government-owned defense-industrial complex. The WIRED story understandably attracted a lot of attention, but those who only read the sensational headline missed the article's critical caveat: "It is unclear if the drone may have been operated in this [an AI-enabled autonomous] way in Ukraine." Other outlets re-reported the WIRED story, but irresponsibly did so without the caveat.