I’ve been thinking a lot about priorities lately. You know that feeling when you’re scrolling through endless debates about ChatGPT writing essays or AI-generated Instagram ads, while somewhere in the back of your mind, there’s this nagging sense that we’re missing something far more urgent? Well, turns out that nagging feeling might be onto something.

Someone recently brought up Israel’s Lavender and Gospel systems - AI-powered tools that can identify targets from CCTV footage and autonomously coordinate drone strikes with minimal human oversight. The casual way this was mentioned, almost as an afterthought while discussing Model UN research, really struck me. Here’s a technology that represents one of the most significant shifts in warfare since the invention of gunpowder, and it’s being discussed like it’s yesterday’s news.

The line between science fiction and reality continues to blur. Reading about Ukraine’s deployment of AI-powered turrets to counter Russian drones, my mind immediately jumped to countless sci-fi narratives I’ve consumed over the years. Remember those automated defense systems from Aliens? Well, they’re basically here now, minus the xenomorphs.

The technology itself is fascinating. We’re not talking about some ChatGPT-powered killer robot – it’s more like sophisticated image recognition software coupled with precision targeting systems. From a pure engineering perspective, it’s an impressive achievement that showcases how AI can be effectively deployed in real-world applications.