WHEN SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE: The intersection of Artificial Intelligence, Military Decision-Making and International Humanitarian Law

Abstract: This thesis explores the intersection of three disciplines: military normativity, international humanitarian law, and artificial intelligence, focusing specifically on intelligent systems that assist superiors in conducting the military decision-making process. It explains the extent to which such systems have been operationalised into the U.S. armed forces at the different levels of warfare and discusses the near-future scenario when they might be used for increasingly complex decision- making and planning. It then analyses the effect this will have on the implementation of humanitarian law during the planning process, particularly at the operational level, with an emphasis on the difficulties that arise around the more subjective assessments, such as proportionality and military necessity, and the inscrutability of the cognitive processes of intelligent systems. The analysis underscores the duties of superiors to be aware of the legal implications of their decisions and to retain control over the planning process. Consequently, it argues that the doctrine of superior responsibility is the appropriate legal framework to regulate the use of these systems by establishing international minimum standards. A few examples are given, but the substance of these standards will need to be the subject of further research, requiring interdisciplinary cooperation between lawyers and specialists in artificial intelligence.