| Abstract | AI has a dual relevance for Common Article 1 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions on the Protection of Victims of War. First, AI can be a tool that helps to better respect and ensure respect for IHL: indeed, the capacity of AI to process information on a scale and speed previously unreachable to humans could lead to decisions that better comply with IHL. At the same time, AI is itself subject to the regulatory scope of Common Article 1 and states resorting to AI-enabled systems in the context of an armed conflict must respect IHL as well as ensure respect by others. This chapter explores this dual relevance. More specifically, the following questions are addressed: how can AI assist states to respect and ensure respect for IHL? And what measures are states expected to adopt to respect and ensure respect for IHL whenever AI is employed in the context of an armed conflict? To address these questions, the chapter first sets the scene by providing an overview of the uses of AI that fall under the scope of Common Article 1. It then proceeds to interpret the rule under consideration before applying it to AI tools. When considering the duty to ensure respect, the analysis distinguishes between the various actors whose compliance with IHL states are required to secure. |
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