The Russian military has begun using artificial intelligence to produce "victories" on a large scale, allowing commanders to report nonexistent battlefield successes to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the Financial Times reports.
Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have identified 35 videos produced by Russian military and propaganda personnel that appear to have been created or altered using AI. The photographs show soldiers planting Russian flags in supposedly occupied settlements. However, the soldiers sometimes disappear from the frame, while the flags suddenly change position.
One example includes the town of Dubrofilia. In October, Russian commanders reported to Putin that the town had been captured. The Russian Ministry of Defense later released a video showing Russian flags among the rubble. In reality, the Ukrainian forces continued to hold their positions in the town.
According to the Financial Times, Russian commanders may be using these videos to convince their superiors that assigned targets have been met. Such inflated claims travel up the chain of command, eventually reaching Putin in official reports.
The disparity is striking: Putin claimed that Russian forces have captured 6,500 square kilometers of Ukraine since the beginning of the year, while independent analysts estimate actual progress at no more than 1,500 square kilometers.
Even Russian military bloggers began mocking the practice, calling it "taking a neural network flag."