Crimes without Humanity? Artificial Intelligence, Meaningful Human Control, and International Criminal Law.

This article examines the challenges that autonomous weapons systems (AWS) and artificial intelligence (AI) pose to international criminal law (ICL), particularly regarding the attribution of criminal responsibility for harm caused in armed conflict. It focuses on the concept of meaningful human control (MHC) over AWS, which aims to ensure human authority and accountability in the deployment and use of such systems, but highlights the difficulties in defining and applying MHC consistently, especially given the complexity and opacity of AI-driven decisions. The article explores how existing ICL doctrines, such as superior responsibility and control theory under the International Criminal Court (ICC), relate to MHC and the responsibility gap created by AWS, noting that establishing a causal link between human conduct and harm is increasingly complicated with advanced technologies like drone swarms that operate autonomously and coordinate in decentralized ways. Ultimately, it suggests that while criminal law may help set ex post standards for accountability, new legal frameworks and understandings are needed to address the evolving nature of human control and responsibility in the context of AWS and AI in warfare.