
Law of Armed conflict in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
CEDIS Working Paper VARIA n.º 7 Março 2021
Resumo e palavras chave
Autor: Saba Sotoudehfar
ABSTRACT
The increasing evolution of artificial intelligence is turning science fiction into a dark reality. States compete to achieve semi- and fully autonomous weapon systems, and the third war transformation is about to happen. Although the deployment of these autonomous weapons will facilitate military operations, various legal and ethical debates have criticized their legitimacy. The fact that autonomous weapons (e.g., drones and killer robots) can operate without human interference has raised concerns among academics about legal principles, such as accountability for specific war actions, including war crimes. Moreover, given the unbalance of force and the anonymity of the aggressor, it also seems to threaten the ethical concept of human dignity. The current legal framework, i.e., Law of armed conflict and International Humanitarian Law, cannot respond to this new style of warfare. Therefore, this study aims to study the ethical and legal challenges of autonomous weapons and highlight the need to establish a new unified legal framework, encompassing an appropriate set of ethical guidelines and legal norms to promote peaceful relations and responsible use of armed forces.
KEYWORDS
Autonomous Weapons, Artificial Intelligence, Human dignity, accountability, Legal Framework
Abstract and keywords
Author: Saba Sotoudehfar
ABSTRACT
The increasing evolution of artificial intelligence is turning science fiction into a dark reality. States compete to achieve semi- and fully autonomous weapon systems, and the third war transformation is about to happen. Although the deployment of these autonomous weapons will facilitate military operations, various legal and ethical debates have criticized their legitimacy. The fact that autonomous weapons (e.g., drones and killer robots) can operate without human interference has raised concerns among academics about legal principles, such as accountability for specific war actions, including war crimes. Moreover, given the unbalance of force and the anonymity of the aggressor, it also seems to threaten the ethical concept of human dignity. The current legal framework, i.e., Law of armed conflict and International Humanitarian Law, cannot respond to this new style of warfare. Therefore, this study aims to study the ethical and legal challenges of autonomous weapons and highlight the need to establish a new unified legal framework, encompassing an appropriate set of ethical guidelines and legal norms to promote peaceful relations and responsible use of armed forces.
KEYWORDS
Autonomous Weapons, Artificial Intelligence, Human dignity, accountability, Legal Framework