UN chief calls for change in Israeli strategy in Gaza and expresses alarm at use of AI in identifying targets

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that while the Israeli government has admitted mistakes in the killing of seven aid workers earlier this week, there must be independent investigations and “meaningful” change on the ground.

In remarks delivered Friday in New York, Guterres said that “the essential problem is not who made the mistakes” in the killing of the World Central Kitchen staff, but the “military procedures in place that allow for those mistakes to multiply time and time again.”

“Fixing those failures requires independent investigations and meaningful change on the ground," he added.

Guterres also said that he was “deeply troubled" by reports that the Israeli military’s bombing campaign involved Artificial Intelligence as a tool in the identification of targets.

“No part of life and death decisions which impact entire families should be delegated to the cold calculation of algorithms. I have warned for many years of the dangers of weaponizing Artificial Intelligence and reducing the essential role of human agency. AI should be used as a force for good to benefit the world; not to contribute to waging war on an industrial level, blurring accountability," the UN chief said.