A Chatbot Fused Open-Source and Signals Intelligence Into a False Report, and US Troops Nearly Boarded a Chinese Ship

CNN (corroborated by Gizmodo, Engadget and The New Republic)·high signalXBlueskyLinkedInCopy link

CNN reports that during the spring war with Iran, an intelligence report claimed a Chinese vessel in the Middle East carried nuclear weapons components. Armed personnel were preparing to board and military planes were airborne when officials discovered the report was AI-assisted and that the chatbot had fused open-source material with secret signals intelligence to reach a conclusion that was entirely false. Sources told CNN the hallucination is not isolated across the intelligence community since AI tools began proliferating through government.