How Army special operators use deepfakes and drones to train for information warfare
One soldier helped create a voice-cloning program using off-the-shelf AI.
SAM SKOVE | APRIL 18, 2024 04:22 PM ET
ARMY AI & AUTONOMY TECHNOLOGY
FORT LIBERTY, North Carolina—With a sample of your voice and a gaming laptop, this Army psychological operations instructor can make you appear to say anything: an order for pizza, a call to the doctor, or just hello.
In peacetime, it’s a party trick. In war, it’s a tool that can be used for deception, luring enemies into traps, or encouraging defection by mimicking the voices of enemy soldiers.
Dubbed Ghost Machine, the tool helps Army Special Operations Forces instructors teach operators how cheap, easily-available tech is reshaping governments’ abilities to target and influence soldiers.
The basic idea behind Ghost Machine is not new—armies have broadcast the voices of collaborators to encourage allied surrender since at least World War II. In the 2010s, ARSOF members encouraged defections within Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony’s force by broadcasting messages from members’ families.
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2024/04/how-army-special-operators-use-deepfakes-and-drones-train-information-warfare/395852/
