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War & Conflict2h 2m ago

Environmental scans taken by Pokémon Go players are being used by Niantic Spatial and defense firm Vantor to train an AI model for military drones.

Netherlands

Who
Niantic Spatial, Vantor, Trouw, Dutch resident
What
Environmental scans taken by Pokémon Go players are being used by Niantic Spatial and defense firm Vantor to train an AI model for military drones.
When
Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:17:00 GMT · 2h 2m ago
Where
Netherlands ·
Why
Niantic Spatial partnered with Vantor to use collected AR and spatial data to train a camera-based AI model for military drones as a GPS redundancy.
The Frontline Impact

How this affects you

This partnership raises concerns among players who were unaware their data could be used for military applications, highlighting the importance of understanding terms of service. The technology aims to enhance drone capabilities, particularly if satellite signals fail, but has sparked debate over the ethical use of user-generated data.

Story chain

2 events in this thread
  1. Currently Reading2h 2m ago
    Environmental scans taken by Pokémon Go players are being used by Niantic Spatial and defense firm Vantor to train an AI model for military drones.
  2. War & Conflict2h 2m ago
    Environmental scans taken by "Pokémon Go" players are being used by Niantic Spatial and defense firm Vantor to train an AI model for military drones and robots.
    Open article

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