Ukraine's IT Army, a government-directed force of volunteer hackers, is using facial recognition technology to identify dead Russian soldiers and send photos of the corpses to their families, The Washington Post reported Friday.
In a Telegram video reminiscent of those produced by the hacker group Anonymous, IT Army explained the process. "As a dead body is found and a photo of its [sic] made, AI will look for the accounts in social media as well as the accounts of a friend, relative, if there are joint photos in internet. Next, we notify a beloved one about the death of a soldier and attach a photo of the body. As of now, we have managed to identify 582 abandoned corpses and inform relatives," the English subtitles read.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Writing for The Week last month, Jason Fields noted that the First Chechen War, fought between 1994 and 1996, was "hugely unpopular" in Russia and exposed the weakness of Russia's post-Soviet military.
The facial recognition technology — and training on how to use it — has been provided to Ukraine free of charge by Clearview AI CEO Hoan Ton-That. According to The New York Times, Ukrainian officials have previously used the technology to verify the identity of Russian prisoners of war and to search for potential saboteurs.
-
Nepal chooses toddler as its new ‘living goddess’Under the Radar Girls between two and four are typically chosen to live inside the temple as the Kumari – until puberty strikes
-
October 5 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, and more
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailoutTalking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
How should Nato respond to Putin’s incursions?Today’s big question Russia has breached Nato airspace regularly this month, and nations are primed to respond
-
Russia’s war games and the threat to NatoIn depth Incursion into Poland and Zapad 2025 exercises seen as a test for Europe
-
What will bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table?Today’s Big Question With diplomatic efforts stalling, the US and EU turn again to sanctions as Russian drone strikes on Poland risk dramatically escalating conflict
-
The mission to demine UkraineThe Explainer An estimated quarter of the nation – an area the size of England – is contaminated with landmines and unexploded shells from the war
-
Ottawa Treaty: why are Russia's neighbours leaving anti-landmine agreement?Today's Big Question Ukraine to follow Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia as Nato looks to build a new ‘Iron Curtain' of millions of landmines
-
How drone warfare worksThe Explainer From Ukraine to Iran, it has become clear that unmanned aircraft are rapidly revolutionising modern warfare
-
How long can Nato keep Donald Trump happy?Today's Big Question Military alliance pulls out all the stops to woo US president on his peacemaker victory lap
-
How far would Russia go for Iran?Today's Big Question US air strikes represent an 'embarrassment, provocation and opportunity' all rolled into one for Vladimir Putin
