War and Diplomacy Important lecture 02/06

Oversight Regimes

• Importance of oversight regimes in ensuring accountability and reliability of AI technologies.

• Oversight looks at:

  • Reliability of the systems, equating to testing.

  • Assigning responsibility for failures: Who to sue or seek remedies from if something goes wrong.

• Purpose: Work through options to create an oversight body, like a Department of War Bots, overseeing companies, authorization processes, and licensing.

Artificial Intelligence Convention

• The Council of Europe drafted an Artificial Intelligence Convention.

• High stakes, with top figures from major tech companies (Google, Microsoft, OpenAI) involved in discussions.

• Main focus on democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, but does not cover national security directly.

• Current challenge: Work on AI-related conventions and protocols that connect the general principles of the AI convention with specific contexts.

Legal Considerations in Autonomous Weapons

• Issues in fully automating weapons systems:

  • Concerns about targeting, distinction, and proportionality in conflict.

  • Liability attribution: Difficulty in determining responsibility for actions taken by an autonomous system.

• Example of legal complexities in cases involving companies like Lockheed Martin and the nature of product liability.

Testing and Responsibility

• Essential to assess the testing regimes for AI systems:

  • How long and extensive testing should be to ensure safety and compliance with legal standards (suggested: minimum seven years).

• Discussion on the nature of liability across different actors involved in creating and deploying AI systems.

International Armed Conflict (IAC)

• Definition: Classical conflict between governments (e.g., Rwanda vs. Congo).

  • Applies even in failed states if Geneva Conventions were signed.

• Low threshold for determining IAC: Any military action between two states could trigger the status of war.

• Importance of clarity in actions taken: Misunderstandings during skirmishes can lead to legal interpretations of an IAC.

Non-International Armed Conflict (NIAC)

• Definition: Conflict not between governments, often involving internal armed groups or civil wars.

  • Requires determination of intensity, duration, and organization of the armed group.

• Difficulty in conferring status to internal groups, aiming to deny legitimacy and POW recognition under international law.

• Common Article 3 applies, but such groups do not receive full POW rights.

Rights and Obligations under Geneva Conventions

• POW privileges and protections under the Geneva Conventions, including rights against torture or cruel treatment.

• Distinction of combatants: respect for non-combatants and the rights of captured members of opposing forces.

• Principles of distinction and proportionality must always be applied to prevent unnecessary suffering during armed conflict.

Legal Consequences of Actions in Conflicts

• Liability of individuals based on their actions in conflicts; individuals cannot be treated as combatants if not qualified.

• Need to apply the law and assess actions critically to determine outcomes in scenarios involving rebel groups or terrorist organizations.

• Specific protocols required to govern the treatment of captured individuals, either as combatants or civilians.