Challenging use of force, armed conflicts, and the cyberspace: drones and artificial intelligence systems

Resumo

This article addresses the increasingly recurrent use of technology in the
pursuit of military actions. The first part focuses on the methodology of targeted killings
from a dual point of view. Firstly, with the analysis of the deaths of Qassem Soleimani
and Ayman al-Zawahiri, where we highlight the challenges posed by drone strikes in
third States in the framework of jus ad bellum. Secondly, regarding the technology itself.
We describe the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, carried out by an AI-powered
weapon, leading us to reflect on the future of warfare and fully autonomous weapons
systems. Finally, the second and last part examines the use of technology in cyberspace,
emphasizing the obstacles it presents under the principle of distinction, inherent in
the jus in bello regime. Overall, this analysis will depend on doctrinal methods, which
allow ways of thinking about the international legal system. This specifically approach
will be based on descriptive research questions that seek to describe the state of the art
of the current legal framework in relation to specific situations. Hence, we conclude
that the current legal framework needs to find a way to adapt when faced with a new
warfare paradigm, without losing its essence