AI chatbot error nearly caused US military strike on Chinese ship
US officials discovered an AI chatbot hallucination drove an aborted armed operation against a Chinese vessel this spring.
False intelligence triggered near miss
Military aircraft were already airborne when the error was found. The system misidentified cargo on a ship linked to Iran war efforts. An analyst used the tool twice to create an official summary that spread through command channels.
Officials halt the operation
The mission stopped just before conflict could occur with China. Pentagon leaders warn that faster AI decisions risk skipping necessary human checks. Errors can move up the chain of command before anyone questions them.
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