The use of new technologies in urban warfare

The development and use of new technologies, especially those based on artificial intelligence (AI), are considered one of the significant characteristics of contemporary armed conflicts. The use of simple prototypes of unarmed drones in the early 1990s has today experienced a true expansion in the form of armed "drone swarms" and "suicide development of autonomous lethal systems ("killer robots") and AI tools for facial and object recognition, which have found their application in the wars in Ukraine (Clearview AI, Skykit Palantir) and Gaza (The Gospel, Lavender). Satellites, both military and commercial, such as SpaceX Starlink and Maxar, as well as AI tools for decrypting and analyzing data, also play a significant role in these conflicts, particularly in Ukraine. An indispensable segment of these conflicts is information warfare, where disinformation, fake news, and numerous AI tools for deepfake, creating fake images, and fake social media accounts are used as primary 'weapons.' Therefore, it is not surprising that some authors consider Ukraine to have turned into a "AI war lab and AI wars of the future", while Gaza can also br e said to represent a testing ground for AI tools for military purposes. Given that the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza are taking place in urban areas, this review paper presents the use of these technologies and their impact on the civilian population and infrastructure, as well as on the transformation of the war itself and the conduct of military operations in urban environments. The paper concludes that as AI continues to evolve, its impact on the transformation of warfare necessitates thorough examination and understanding of this topic.