US nearly confronted China over AI-generated intelligence during Iran war

The US military began preparations to intercept a Chinese vessel in the Middle East after receiving an intelligence report alleging it was transporting components linked to a nuclear weapons program. Officials later discovered the report had been produced with the help of artificial intelligence and that its information about the ship’s cargo was inaccurate, according to sources cited by CNN.

Sources said the report, which circulated within the US military during the conflict with Iran, triggered an immediate state of alert. Plans were drawn up to intercept the ship and board it with armed personnel, while military aircraft were deployed in anticipation of the operation.

However, before the planned operation began, officials conducted further review of the report and found it had been generated with AI assistance. The chatbot used by the analyst had misidentified the material the ship was carrying.

CNN explained that the report was prepared by an analyst from Special Operations Command, who used an AI tool to process intelligence related to the Chinese ship’s cargo manifest. The AI was then used again to draft the findings into an intelligence report, which was circulated within the military.