Symposium on Cyber, International Law and Artificial Intelligence in Armed Conflict: Introduction

[LtCol Nick Wobma is Deputy Head of the Law Branch at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence.

Maria Tolppa is Law Researcher at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence.

Kubo Mačák is Professor of International Law at the University of Exeter.]

Few technologies have had as significant and dramatic an impact on contemporary life as artificial intelligence (AI). The use (and misuse) of AI has not been limited to peacetime contexts. Military applications of AI are increasingly shaping the nature of warfare, from Gaza to Ukraine to Iran. Examples include AI-enabled drones, autonomous and semi-autonomous defense systems, machine-learning tools used in targeting, AI-supported cyber operations, generative AI in information operations and cognitive warfare, and many others.

All of these developments raise an urgent question: how does international law, and especially international humanitarian law (IHL), regulate these technologies, and what limits does it impose on their development and use? This symposium brings together four perspectives on distinct aspects of that question. It also offers an early glimpse of the forthcoming Oxford University Press volume International Law and Artificial Intelligence in Armed Conflict: The AI–Cyber Interplay, which we are co-editing as part of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence’s broader research project on AI and the legal aspects of cyber operations. Each of the symposium contributors is also the author of a chapter in the volume, and their posts build on presentations delivered at the 18^th International Conference on Cyber Conflict (CyCon) in May 2026 (available to view online here).

The volume as a whole offers an in-depth exploration of the legal dimensions of AI in armed conflict. It examines AI’s impact on warfare through the lens of international law, while remaining attentive to the technical, military, humanitarian, and institutional realities that shape how AI is developed and used in practice. The four contributions that together form this symposium focus on specific challenges raised by the use of AI in armed conflict, from ensuring respect for IHL throughout the lifecycle of military AI systems, through the regulation of AI-enabled information operations, to broader approaches to the governance of AI in armed conflict.

Together, the contributions – alongside the forthcoming volume – invite a broader question. As AI becomes embedded in the technological environment in which military operations are planned, conducted, and supported, can existing rules be interpreted and applied in ways that preserve their effectiveness, or are new norms needed? While the contributors answer that question in different ways, they share the view that the growing reliance on AI in armed conflict must remain subject to the rule of law at the international level.

The Symposium

The symposium opens with Marco Roscini’s examination of Common Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions as a framework for governing military AI throughout its lifecycle. Moving beyond the traditional focus on battlefield decision-making and accountability, he argues that the obligation to “respect and ensure respect” for IHL has important implications for the design, development, testing, acquisition and deployment of AI systems, offering a due diligence perspective that extends well beyond operational use.

Netta Goussac and Rain Liivoja examine one of the most practical safeguards available under existing IHL: legal reviews of military AI capabilities. They argue that legal review should not be understood as a one-time compliance exercise, but as an ongoing governance mechanism capable of accompanying AI systems throughout their operational lifecycle. Their contribution highlights both the importance and the limits of legal reviews, showing how the distinctive characteristics of military AI may require corresponding adaptations in review processes and institutional practice.

Gary Corn then examines the IHL implications of generative AI-enabled military deception. Focusing on AI-based systems designed to deceive enemy sensors and systems (which he calls “fog-of-war machines”), he argues that existing IHL continues to provide the governing framework, while requiring careful application to increasingly scalable, adaptive, and sophisticated forms of machine-to-machine deception that may contribute to erroneous targeting decisions and therefore civilian harm.

Jimena Viveros concludes the symposium by considering AI from a broader governance perspective. She argues that AI’s inherently dual-use, general-purpose and foundational character challenges governance structures that continue to separate military and civilian domains. Rather than treating military AI as an isolated regulatory problem, her contribution explores whether more integrated governance approaches are required to respond to technologies that routinely cross institutional and operational boundaries.

Concluding Thoughts

Although each contribution addresses a distinct question, they share a common premise: a central challenge posed by military AI is not that it would render existing international law obsolete, but that it changes the conditions in which that law must operate. The contributions collected in this symposium therefore explore different ways in which existing legal principles can be interpreted, implemented, and, where necessary, further developed to govern AI-enabled military operations without losing sight of the realities of contemporary conflict.

Many of the questions explored in this symposium remain open. AI technology continues to evolve, military organizations are experimenting with new forms of AI capabilities and states are pursuing governance initiatives through a range of international and domestic processes. Rather than offering definitive answers, the contributions seek to clarify legal questions that deserve sustained attention as these developments unfold.

We are grateful to the Opinio Juris team for offering a platform for this symposium and hope these posts contribute to the broader conversation on how international law can continue to provide meaningful guidance as AI becomes an increasingly integral component of modern-day warfare. The issues examined here are among the most pressing legal questions raised by the use of AI in armed conflict and we invite readers to engage with them alongside our contributors.