Algorithmic Warfare and Legal Responsibility: Who is Liable for AI-Driven Military Decisions

Abstract

The quick adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) into the military system has brought a paradigm change in armed conflict, posing tough questions concerning the legal accountability of AI-assisted decisions. The autonomous and semi-autonomous weapons systems of algorithmic war is also a challenge to the traditional structures of liability in the international law, which assumes human intent, control and foreseeability. The decision of who is responsible in cases of illegal harm is legally unclear as the power of decision-making is transferred more and more to machine-learning systems.