Description
rtificial intelligence (AI) will increasingly infiltrate what is arguably the most consequential decision that we can collectively make: the decision to wage war. While ample attention has been paid to the emergence and evolution of AI-enabled systems used in the conduct of war – including lethal autonomous weapons systems under the confronting banner of ‘killer robots’ – the prospect of AI driving this necessarily prior stage of war-making, the crucial determination of whether and when to engage in organised violence, has received less attention. Following recent studies that have begun to redress this relative neglect by examining particular risks and opportunities that would accompany the infiltration of AI into resort-to-force decision making, this paper will explore and evaluate another, hitherto overlooked, potential consequence of this anticipated development. Namely, we will consider how the use of such AI-enabled systems is likely to alter the very structures, cultures, and capacities of those collective bodies charged with exercising forbearance in the resort to war – and what impact this transformation could have on their propensity to do so.
