By Fionn Parker
This paper argues that there is a severe risk the actions of autonomous defence systems (ADS) may be taken as representative of state practice, thereby shaping the scope of what we understand as the legitimate use of force in self-defence under international law (the ‘self-defence doctrine’). This doctrine is characterised by many ambiguities. It thus requires further development and clarification by state practice and opinio juris. This paper suggests that the conduct of ADS may come to be the source of this state practice, where the necessary opinio juris is provided by subsequent governmental statements endorsing and owning this conduct or by the systems of control deployed over the ADS. The paper concludes by outlining the various risks associated with this potential influence of ADS on the self-defence doctrine. This essay is pressingly relevant in a world where the development of artificial intelligence far outstrips the pace of law reform. Worryingly, it may be the technological developments such as ADS rather than us shaping the law that regulates them.
Keywords: autonomous defence systems; state practice; opinio juris; self-defence; artificial intelligence.