Chinese defense companies are drawing growing controversy by using artificial intelligence to livestream U.S. military movements related to the Iran war in near real-time on social media. The United States is particularly wary of the rise of Chinese firms that, unlike their American counterparts, are difficult to control.
According to the Washington Post on Sunday, Chinese private companies have posted a series of detailed analyses of U.S. military activities related to the Iran war on social media platforms. The information was extracted by using AI models to analyze publicly available data, including satellite imagery, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) aircraft tracking data, and Automatic Identification System (AIS) vessel tracking data.
Hangzhou-based MizarVision posted on social media images of U.S. forces massing in the Middle East, claiming it had tracked the movements of the aircraft carriers USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford on June 25, just before the war broke out. The firm drew further attention by disclosing the types and models of fighter jets assembled at U.S. military bases in nearby countries including Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, which MizarVision revealed, is also the site where Iranian airstrikes damaged key U.S. assets including early warning and control aircraft and THAAD radar systems.
