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

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.