[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 a more significant and dramatic impact on modern life than artificial intelligence (AI). The use (and abuse) of AI is not limited to peacetime situations. From Gaza to Ukraine to Iran, military applications of AI are increasingly shaping the nature of war. Examples include AI-enabled drones, autonomous and semi-autonomous defense systems, machine learning tools used for targeting, AI-assisted cyber operations, and generative AI in information operations and cognitive warfare.
All these developments raise urgent questions about how international law, and in particular international humanitarian law (IHL), regulates these technologies and what limits it imposes on their development and use. This symposium brings together four perspectives on different aspects of this issue. It also provides an early overview of upcoming Oxford University Press books. International Law and Artificial Intelligence in Armed Conflict: Interaction of AI and CyberIt is co-edited by us as part of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence’s broader research project on legal aspects of AI and cyber operations. Each of the symposium contributors is also the author of a chapter in this volume, and their contributions are based on presentations at the 18th symposium.th
The International Conference on Cyber Conflict (CyCon) will be held in May 2026 (watch online here).
Overall, this volume provides an in-depth study of the legal aspects of AI in armed conflict. Examines the impact of AI on warfare through the lens of international law, paying attention to the technical, military, humanitarian, and institutional realities that shape how AI is developed and used in practice. The four contributions that make up this symposium focus on specific challenges posed by the use of AI in armed conflicts, from ensuring respect for IHL throughout the lifecycle of military AI systems, to regulating AI-enabled information operations, to broader approaches to the governance of AI in armed conflicts.
These contributions, together with the next volume, raise broader questions. 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 a way that maintains their effectiveness, or are new norms needed? Contributors answer this question in different ways, but they share the view that the growing reliance on AI in armed conflicts must be subject to the rule of law at the international level.
symposium
The symposium begins with Marco Rossini’s examination of Common Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions as a framework governing the entire lifecycle of military AI. He argues that beyond the traditional focus on battlefield decision-making and accountability, the obligation to “respect and ensure respect” for IHL has important implications for the design, development, testing, acquisition, and deployment of AI systems, providing a due diligence perspective that extends far beyond operational use.
Netta Goussac and Rain Liivoja consider one of the most practical safeguards available under existing IHL: the legal review of military AI capabilities. They argue that legal reviews should not be understood as a one-time compliance exercise, but as an ongoing governance mechanism that can accompany AI systems throughout their operational lifecycle. Their contributions highlight both the importance and limitations of legal review and demonstrate how the unique characteristics of military AI require corresponding adaptations in review processes and institutional practices.
Gary Cohn then examines the impact of military deception using generative AI on IHL. Focusing on AI-based systems designed to deceive enemy sensors and systems (which he calls the “fog of war machine”), he argues that while existing IHL continues to provide a governance framework, increasingly scalable, adaptive, and more sophisticated forms of machine-to-machine deception require careful application and can contribute to erroneous targeting decisions and, in turn, harm to civilians.
Jimena Viveros concluded the symposium by looking at AI from a broader governance perspective. She argues that because AI is inherently dual-use, general-purpose and fundamental in nature, it challenges governance structures that continue to separate military and civilian domains. Rather than treating military AI as a separate regulatory issue, her contribution considers whether a more integrated governance approach is needed to accommodate technologies that routinely cross organizational and operational boundaries.
Thoughts as a conclusion
Although each contribution addresses a different problem, they share a common premise. That said, the central challenge posed by military AI is not to make existing international law obsolete, but to change the conditions under which international law must operate. The contributions gathered in this symposium will therefore explore the different ways in which existing legal principles can be interpreted, implemented and, if necessary, further developed, to manage AI-enabled military operations, without losing sight of the realities of modern conflicts.
Many of the questions considered at this symposium remain unanswered. AI technologies continue to evolve, military organizations are experimenting with new forms of AI capabilities, and states are advancing their governance efforts through a variety of international and domestic processes. Rather than providing definitive answers, the contribution seeks to clarify legal issues that deserve continued attention as these developments unfold.
Thank you very much. Opinio Julis We hope these posts will contribute to a broader discussion about how international law can continue to provide meaningful guidance as AI becomes an increasingly integral part of modern warfare. The issues discussed here are among the most pressing legal issues raised by the use of AI in armed conflict, and we encourage our readers to engage with our contributors.
