Pokémon Go data trained AI that could assist military drones in war zones
<p>Location scans from the globally popular augmented reality game have helped train AI to recognise and interpret physical spaces</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2026/jun/12/australia-news-live-richard-marles-aukus-submarine-defence-nato-anthony-albanese-pauline-hanson-labor-one-nation-cost-of-living-ntwnfb">Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates</a></p></li><li><p>Get our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl">breaking news email</a>, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3">free app</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily news podcast</a></p></li></ul><p>An AI model trained on data collected from users of Pokémon Go will potentially help military drones find their location in war zones.</p><p>Pokémon Go, a 2016 augmented reality mobile game, allowed players to find and catch <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/games/pokemon">Pokémon</a> in the real world using the cameras on their mobile phones, and exploded in popularity. In 2018, the company reported having <a href="https://www.pocketgamer.biz/pokemon-go-captures-800-million-downloads/">more than 800m downloads</a> worldwide.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jun/12/pokemon-go-data-trained-ai-that-could-assist-military-drones-in-war-zones">Continue reading...</a>
- alleges — Pokémon Go data trained AI that could assist military drones in war zones (witness: wire-ingest; citation: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jun/12/pokemon-go-data-trained-ai-that-could-assist-military-drones-in-war-zones; status: supported)
- alleges — url: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jun/12/pokemon-go-data-trained-ai-that-could-assist-military-drones-in-war-zones (witness: wire-ingest; citation: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jun/12/pokemon-go-data-trained-ai-that-could-assist-military-drones-in-war-zones; status: supported)
- alleges — summary: <p>Location scans from the globally popular augmented reality game have helped train AI to recognise and interpret physical spaces</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2026/jun/12/australia-news-live-richard-marles-aukus-submarine-defence-nato-anthony-albanese-pauline-hanson-labor-one-nation-cost-of-living-ntwnfb">Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates</a></p></li><li><p>Get our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl">breaking news email</a>, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3">free app</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily news podcast</a></p></li></ul><p>An AI model trained on data collected from users of Pokémon Go will potentially help military drones find their location in war zones.</p><p>Pokémon Go, a 2016 augmented reality mobile game, allowed players to find and catch <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/games/pokemon">Pokémon</a> in the real world using the cameras on their mobile phones, and exploded in popularity. In 2018, the company reported having <a href="https://www.pocketgamer.biz/pokemon-go-captures-800-million-downloads/">more than 800m downloads</a> worldwide.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jun/12/pokemon-go-data-trained-ai-that-could-assist-military-drones-in-war-zones">Continue reading...</a> (witness: wire-ingest; citation: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jun/12/pokemon-go-data-trained-ai-that-could-assist-military-drones-in-war-zones; status: supported)
- alleges — published: Fri, 12 Jun 2026 07:06:00 GMT (witness: wire-ingest; citation: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jun/12/pokemon-go-data-trained-ai-that-could-assist-military-drones-in-war-zones; status: supported)