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by matusp 265 days ago
Two points here. (1) A lot of technology that Ukraine uses is based on what the Western countries have provided them. (2) Ukraine struggles with AI as well, in fact, according to some sources, Ukraine is already behind Russia in drone technology. One of the reasons cited is that they invested heavily into AI and it did not yield viable drones. On the other hand, Russians decided to invest into manually controlled drones controlled via optic cables and they are very effective.
2 comments
apercu 265 days ago
I trust very few "sources", especially these days. And even more especially, in the middle of a war between two former USSR states that have deep histories in manipulating public opinion and weaponizing that against their adversaries.
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_t9ow 265 days ago
> weaponizing that against their adversaries

I understand your skepticism, but here is an interview from April 2025 with the founder of VYRIY, a Ukrainian drone company: https://militarnyi.com/en/news/vyriy-founder-compares-accura... According to him, Russian drones are far superior. "In terms of [Ukrainian drone vs Russian drone] quality, well, like 10% vs. 80%. It’s not even comparable,” Oleksii Babenko sums up.

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apercu 263 days ago
Again, I don’t trust sources that are random quotes on the interwebs during a conflict where people are dying (or corporate PR speak) but maybe that’s a me problem?
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judahmeek 265 days ago
That article suggests that the difference is due to economics & possibly intended use, not technological advances.
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remarkEon 265 days ago
Manufacturing is a technology.
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judahmeek 261 days ago
But manufacturing something simpler to achieve optimal cost/benefit ratios is not a technological advance.
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gitremote 265 days ago
1. Did you read the first link? Virtually all of Ukraine's FPV (first-person view) attack drones are domestically produced.

2. If that's the case, why is the US trying to invest heavily into AI as well if we learned from Ukraine that AI controlled drones are shittier than human controlled drones?

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matusp 265 days ago
> If that's the case, why is the US trying to invest heavily into AI as well if we learned from Ukraine that AI controlled drones are shittier than human controlled drones?

What is according to your estimates the ratio for research funding for human-controlled and AI-controlled weapons in the US nowadays?

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