Former CIA director David Petraeus has said a human, assisted by artificial intelligence (AI), made the final decision in the bombing of Shajarah Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, southern Iran, where at least 156 people were killed.
Speaking at the NDTV World Summit, the retired military officer said AI helped with targeting but did not make the final call. His remarks come amid questions over an earlier report that suggested an AI-driven targeting process played a role in US strikes that killed at least 123 children.
Petraeus was advocating the use of highly precise AI in military operations when he was asked about the school bombing.
Human judgement behind the strike
"Actually (that was) a human judgement. That was not the machine making the decision, I believe. It was a human that decided, and it was helped by AI with targeting. AI is used extensively," he said.
Acknowledging that errors had occurred in military operations, Petraeus said human beings continued to make the final decisions.
"There have been mistakes, and you've seen these in various settings in the Middle East as well as, I'm sure, in Ukraine as well. These still are humans making the final decision, in a sense, to pull the trigger or press the button," he added.
He also argued that AI systems should operate within clear parameters set by humans. Machines, he said, should make decisions based on "very, very specific criteria and direction programmed by a human."
Petraeus further stressed that those making critical military decisions should consider criticism and differing viewpoints rather than relying only on supporters.
Earlier report flagged AI targeting concerns
A Bloomberg investigation had reported that US military personnel preparing for the Iran war were tasked with identifying targets that could cripple Iran's military before Tehran could respond. These included sites linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) naval division, which operates in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
According to officials cited in the report, some personnel at US Central Command (CENTCOM) relied heavily on the Maven Smart System, an AI-enabled tool, to identify targets and plan the opening strikes.
The school in Minab had been built on land previously occupied by an IRGC naval unit. Its classification as an IRGC facility was not corrected, and the site was entered into Maven alongside other potential targets. Officials said it emerged as one of the recommended targets for the first day of attacks.
Developed by Palantir Technologies, Maven draws on more than 150 data inputs to assist commanders with military decisions. The report said the system had shortened targeting work that once took hours to just minutes.