AI, war & (in)humanity:the role of human emotions in military decision-making

By removing, reducing and reconfiguring human activity on the battlefield, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in war has significant implications for armed conflicts, their regulation, and humanitarianism as a whole. In the face of rapid technological development and the increasing remoteness and automation that this entails, coupled with an increasingly violent global environment, this article calls for the urgent ‘rehumanisation’ of military decision-making.<br/>The argument made is threefold, recommending:<br/>•first, a broadened definition of AI in war as a tool for the application of human judgement;<br/>•second, that AI in war (its development and use, as well as attitudes towards it) risks the problematic and unprecedented removal of humanity from war and its regulation; and<br/>•third, that humanity should be used as a criterion for the use of AI in war, in order to fortify the humanitarian project in the face of contemporary challenges, and ensure more robust protection for civilians and combatants alike: the ‘humanity criterion.’<br/><br/>Key considerations covered in this article include: problems relating to dehumanisation, risk and accountability; the need for ‘meaningful human control’ over autonomous technologies; and the importance of emotions in military decision-making.