AI-Enabled Facial Identification in Palestine: The Role of Red Wolf and Blue Wolf in Monitoring Citizens
In the occupied Palestinian territories, two AI-powered facial recognition systems, Red Wolf and Blue Wolf, are being extensively used. These systems, primarily deployed in Gaza, East Jerusalem, and surrounding areas, are transforming public spaces into zones of constant surveillance.
How Red Wolf and Blue Wolf Operate
The facial features collected by these systems are linked with other personal data, such as mobile phone numbers and home/office addresses. This information is integrated into a broader AI system called The Gospel, which connects individuals to their contacts by analysing phone and pager communications.
A network of social contacts is then constructed and maintained in another AI system known as Lavender. Additional AI programs like Lavender and Where’s Daddy use machine learning algorithms to assign risk scores or ratings to individuals based on their profiles and communications, effectively profiling them as activists or targets.
Deployment Locations
Red Wolf and Blue Wolf operate extensively throughout the Gaza Strip, divided by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) into 620 blocks, restricting movement within this area. They are specifically operative at entry/exit points—checkpoints, airports, and transportation hubs—as well as in public spaces, facilitating continuous surveillance and data gathering.
Human Rights Concerns
The use of these systems raises significant human rights issues. Over 37,000 Gaza activists are being monitored, with their homes, communication networks, and tunnel locations mapped. Indiscriminate targeting is a concern, with people not closely linked to activists also being flagged and subsequently targeted. Documented instances of night raids and bombing of homes with people inside, some caught due to surveillance data, imply lethal consequences potentially stemming from AI-driven profiling.
The mass surveillance with AI algorithms raises concerns about privacy violations, collective punishment, and extrajudicial killings, exacerbated by the opacity and impersonal nature of algorithmic decisions.
Potential Impacts on Daily Life
Residents face severe restrictions on their movements within the Gaza Strip, effectively confined by the IDF’s segmented blocks and monitored constantly. The social fabric is strained as the AI systems create detailed maps of social interactions, increasing suspicion and fear within communities. The risk of being flagged as an activist or associated with one can lead to harassment, arrest, or targeted violence, profoundly impacting freedom of movement, association, and security for ordinary Palestinians.
In conclusion, Red Wolf and Blue Wolf represent militarized AI facial recognition systems that integrate biometric, locational, and social data to surveil, control, and target populations in Gaza. Their deployment underscores critical ethical and human rights challenges linked to AI-enabled warfare and occupation surveillance regimes.
