Iran looks to AI to weather Western sanctions, help military to fight 'on the cheap'

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Tehran, Iran, has made it no secret that it plans to invest heavily in artificial intelligence (AI) to help better its military capabilities, but Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is now turning to Iran’s private sector in a move he thinks will boost his crippling economy.

On Sunday, Raisi met with private sector companies to announce Tehran’s intent to invest in digital businesses.

Raisi claimed the move would not only help develop Iran’s AI capabilities, but help achieve his goal to grow the economy by 8%, reported pro-government media outlet Tasnim News Agency.

However, experts remain skeptical about whether the move will actually fix Iran’s economic woes and said they are more concerned by the abilities AI would grant Tehran when it comes to the battlefield.

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Iran made headlines during the early months of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine when the White House accused it of "gifting" Moscow drones, and these deadly aerial weapons have continued to plague other areas like Yemen, Iraq and Syria where Iran-backed militia reside.

"Iran doesn't have endless access to certain technologies, even things like drone engines, because of sanctions. It's not always easy for them to build everything locally,"