A Russian drone equipped with an experimental artificial intelligence system autonomously selected its target at a petrol station in Zaporizhzhia, killing three civilians, including a 19-year-old university student, in what experts describe as the first documented case of self-targeting AI drones causing civilian deaths.
Tetiana Bubynets, 19, and two others were killed at a petrol station in the city of Zaporizhzhia by a drone fitted with an experimental AI system that decides, without a human operator, where to strike, the New York Times reported. The drone, which resembled a model aeroplane, was programmed to fly towards the petrol station, but once it approached, the AI system independently selected its target — most likely propane tanks — based on its training to identify such objects, experts and military officials told the paper.
First documented case of AI-caused civilian deaths
The July 6 gas station attack would be the first documented case in which self-targeting AI Russian drones caused civilian deaths. Debris retrieved from the petrol station and other strike sites around the city revealed that the drones were running on Nvidia minicomputers that determined where the drone would detonate, officials and experts said.
Nvidia produces the majority of the chips powering the world's most advanced AI systems and confirmed that the module found in the drone was a Jetson Orin minicomputer, a low-cost system that has been found on other Russian weapons, according to The Times. Nvidia described the system as a consumer-grade product available for students, developers and start-ups "for a wide range of beneficial applications."
Officials warn of 'Terminator' future
"This is a risk for the whole world," said Colonel Serhiy Minaiev, the commander of Ukrainian air defences in Zaporizhzhia. "In a few years, we will be living in a 'Terminator' movie. It's no joke. Machines are making decisions to strike."
The presence of an Nvidia module "is the best proof" that Russia has been experimenting with autonomous AI on the battlefield, she said. Nvidia sells the computer in several countries but not in Russia — although it's broadly accessible via resellers.
