[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 18th
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.
