WIRED: As Russia Plots Its Next Move, an AI Listens to the Chatter

“Vostok, I am Sneg 02. On the highway we have to turn left, fuck,” one of the soldiers says in Russian using code names meaning “East” and “Snow 02.”

“Got it. No need to move further. Switch to defense. Over,” another responds.

Later, a third soldier tries to make contact with another codenamed “South 95”: “Yug 95, do you have contact with a senior? Warn him on the highway artillery fire. On the highway artillery fire. Don’t go by column. Move carefully.”

The third Russian soldier continues, becoming increasingly agitated: “Get on the radio. Tell me your situation and the artillery location, approximately what weapon they are firing.” Later, the third soldier speaks again: “Name your square. Yug 95, answer my questions. Name the name of your square!”

As the soldiers spoke, an AI was listening. Their words were automatically captured, transcribed, translated, and analyzed using several artificial intelligence algorithms developed by Primer, a US company that provides AI services for intelligence analysts. While it isn’t clear whether Ukrainian troops also intercepted the communication, the use of AI systems to surveil Russia’s army at scale shows the growing importance of sophisticated open source intelligence in military conflicts.

Tapping into open source intelligence data means sifting immense quantities of information. “The amount of open source intelligence is impossible for anyone to process,” says Emily Harding, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a policy research nonprofit, who wrote a report in January 2022 about using AI to mine open source intelligence. Harding says the intelligence world has gotten better at analyzing imagery using machine learning tools. Classifying the contents of images was one of the first tasks that demonstrated the power of modern AI. Harding says that Primer has distinguished itself for its ability to parse language.