Beyond the Ban: Comparing the Ability of 'Killer Robots' and Human Soldiers to Comply with IHL

46 Fletcher Forum of World Affairs 15 (2022)

15 Pages Posted: 27 Apr 2022 Last revised: 13 Feb 2023

See all articles by Lena Trabucco

Lena Trabucco

Government of the United States of America - U.S. Naval War College; Centre for Military Studies; American University - Washington College of Law

Kevin Jon Heller

University of Copenhagen (Centre for Military Studies)

Date Written: April 21, 2022

Abstract

Much of the legal debate over the use of autonomous weapons systems (AWS) focuses on whether AWS are capable of respecting basic principles of international humanitarian law (IHL). In one camp are the “techno-pessimists”: scholars who insist that AWS are not and never will be capable of complying with IHL. In the other camp are the “techno-optimists”: scholars who believe not only that AWS will eventually be able to comply with IHL, but also that the use of AWS can make armed conflict less violent.

There is, however, a puzzling lacuna at the heart of this debate. For all their differences, techno-pessimists and techno-optimists agree that the central question is whether AWS will ever be able to comply with IHL better than human soldiers. Yet the debate focuses almost exclusively on the technological limits of AWS; discussion of the cognitive errors that so often cause human soldiers to violate IHL is limited to anecdote, while systematic comparison of AWS and human soldiers in terms of their ability to comply with IHL is completely absent.

Using two scenarios involving the principle of distinction, this short article sketches the kind of research that is needed to determine whether AWS will ever be able to comply with IHL better than human soldiers. It suggests that, given human cognitive limits and machine technological potential, there is indeed reason to believe that in at least some combat situations AWS will eventually be able to outperform human soldiers in terms of IHL compliance.

Suggested Citation

Trabucco, Lena and Heller, Kevin Jon, Beyond the Ban: Comparing the Ability of 'Killer Robots' and Human Soldiers to Comply with IHL (April 21, 2022). 46 Fletcher Forum of World Affairs 15 (2022), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4089315 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4089315

Lena Trabucco

Government of the United States of America - U.S. Naval War College ( email )

686 Cushing Road
Newport, RI 02841-1207
United States

Centre for Military Studies ( email )

Solbjerg Plads 3
Copenhagen, DK-2100
Denmark

American University - Washington College of Law ( email )

4300 Nebraska Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20016
United States

Kevin Jon Heller (Contact Author)

University of Copenhagen (Centre for Military Studies) ( email )

Denmark

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
409
Abstract Views
1,266
Rank
139,084
PlumX Metrics