THE COMPATIBILITY OF AUTONOMOUS WEAPONS WITH THE PRINCIPLE OF DISTINCTION IN THE LAW OF ARMED CONFLICT
Journal: International and Comparative Law Quarterly
Year: 2020

Abstract The law of armed conflict requires ‘distinction’ between civilians and combatants and provides that only the latter may be targeted. However, for proper implementation, distinction requires advanced observation and recognition abilities as well as the capacity to exercise judgement based on situational awareness. While the observation and recognition abilities of machines may now surpass those of humans, the capacity of machines to exercise judgement remains significantly more limited t