Search: battlefield robots
08 Jun Should the President (Micro?) Manage Drone Attacks?
...beyond an active battlefield or theater of operations, there are obviously diplomatic considerations that require caution. Should not the “sole organ” of our nation in international affairs (to quote the dicta most often cited by proponents of exclusive executive power in foreign affairs) consider them? In Yoo’s own words: “Poring over the files of kill-list nominees recalls Lyndon Johnson’s role in tightly controlling bombing strikes during the Vietnam War. During Operation Rolling Thunder, Johnson held Tuesday lunches when he and his advisers picked targets to avoid attacks that might provoke...02 Mar Textuality and Preparatory Work
...has its origins in the 1929 Convention. What is the significance (if any) of the mixed practice under that Convention? Does the discussion at the 1999 Montreal Conference leave interpretative options open (other than for the plaintiff!). It looks as if this case could give the rules of treaty interpretation a good workout. Perhaps the failure of the Montreal Conference to resolve the issue (along with some other key issues in carriage by air) allows scope for what Jan describes as a “battlefield” and for continuation of unresolved political issues....05 Sep Is There a Regime China Won’t Support?
...Hariri, chief of the transitional council’s military committee, reviewed the documents and concluded that they explain the presence of brand-new weapons his men encountered on the battlefield. He expressed outrage that the Chinese were negotiating an arms deal even while his forces suffered heavy casualties in the slow grind toward Tripoli. “I’m almost certain that these guns arrived and were used against our people,” Mr. Hariri said. Senior rebel officials confirmed the authenticity of the four-page memo, written in formal style on the green eagle letterhead used by a government...20 Sep Detention in NIAC — A Reply to Wittes and Chesney (and a Defense of Vladeck)
...by the alleged terrorist; such participation is the minimum necessary to connect an individual to a NIAC who is located away from the battlefield and is not a member of an “organized armed group” participating in that conflict, and there is no credible argument that “material support” qualifies as active participation. Wittes and Chesney, by contrast, simply ignore the issue entirely. But let’s assume that the rules of IHL in NIAC do apply to the detention of alleged terrorists apprehended in the U.S. and in other locations that are not...
11 Mar Ukraine: How to End the War
...escalation jumps up further, this calculation may change. Hence, it will be useful to continue thinking about the elements a settlement would need to address, and how it would address them. This would depend on the constellation on the battlefield, the maintenance of international resolve in this matter, and the level of further civilian casualties Ukraine is willing to accept. In short, a settlement will only come about if both sides find themselves in a situation where they have no other, or better, choice. Let us be ready for that...
13 Apr From Infinite Scroll to Command and Control: What Big Tech’s Courtroom Reckoning Means for Military AI Governance
...military targeting practices means these systems will increasingly shape how commanders see and interpret the battlefield, bringing a whole range of risks. When the conditions of their design remain opaque, and the aims of their developers go unexamined, accountability is not secured but displaced. It is imperative that governance debate moves beyond a focus on human operators to engage more directly with the socio-technical conditions of system design. Photo attribution: “Responsible AI in the Military Domain – REAIM 2023” by Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0...
19 Nov Demonstrating the Future of War: Tech Companies and Claims of Epistemic Authority on Military AI
...unpredictable. More data does not automatically lead to clearer perceptions of the battlefield or a better understanding of the adversary. For instance, Karp stated that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) integrate Palantir’s software capabilities into their targeting practices. Yet, the mass destruction and genocidal violence in Gaza show that AI technologies have provided the IDF not with tools of precision to execute limited military operations, but rather with more potent means of surveillance and lethal violence. Second, by supporting the narrative that data-driven military targeting is automatically more efficient, tech...
31 Mar Options for a Peace Settlement for Ukraine: Option Paper I – Neutrality and Related Concepts
...what a possible settlement for Ukraine might look like. The aim was to show that a relatively condensed settlement could be possible, despite the ever more complex nature of the situation in Ukraine. That contribution also attempted to demonstrate a few ideas on how one might address some of the more difficult issue areas in a potential settlement. Any specific settlement proposal will of necessity reflect the relative configuration of the sides on the battlefield and in the wider political arena. It is not possible to predict what this situation...