Cyborg Soldiers: Military Use of Brain-Computer Interfaces and the Law of Armed Conflict

Recent years have seen a spotlight aimed at new technologies and how they might be used by the military. Scholars and policymakers have given much attention to autonomous weapons systems and artificial intelligence, as well as to cyber operations, but far less notice is paid to a host of other technologies which may also transform the way conflicts are conducted. One of these other areas of technological advancement is human enhancement. While a full survey of every enhancement technology is impossible in a work of this kind, this Chapter addresses a specific class of enhancement known as brain-computer interfaces (BCI). While this technology is still in its infancy, the Chapter identifies international humanitarian Law (IHL) issues arising from future military uses based on potential technological development. One of the most pressing issues regarding BCIs is whether the existing IHL framework, designed to regulate and safeguard the needs of conventional soldiers, can address the legal conundrums that are likely to arise when BCIs are deployed on the battlefield. To that end, this Chapter provides an analysis of IHL implications relevant to a number of rules, in relation to BCI reliance on data from AI systems, weapons review, targeting the BCI, protection of individuals hors de combat, risk of perfidy, and accountability and responsibility. It also provides suggestions that, we hope, will aid in the future development of systems that can be used lawfully, and reduce the risk of those which are more likely to lead to violations.