40 No. 76 JUSTICE organizes and cross-references layers of several existing intelligence sources.”27 Finally, Israel’s AI-based applications are devoted to improving the weapons and munitions themselves. An example is the development by Rafael of an advanced missile system, “SPIKE LR II,” that incorporates smart tracking capabilities, leveraging AI to sustain lock-on of diverse targets in challenging conditions.28 III. Challenges Associated with the Introduction of AI on the Battlefield This section presents challenges associated with the deployment of AI in war. A. Human Involvement One of the main issues regarding AI-based systems relates to the role of humans in their operation.29 Legally, there is no justification to deploy an AI system that autonomously targets individuals or objects without human involvement, as the threshold in place under IHL is that of the reasonable military commander — meaning a human commander.30 There are additional practical considerations for having a human involved. First, human participation enhances decision-making precision and quality.31 Second, human involvement can bolster the legitimacy of the decision and enhance public trust.32 Third, when an AI system leads to making an incorrect decision, human participation becomes crucial in terms of accountability for the decision.33 Fourth, some believe that if humans do not participate in the decision-making, human dignity is infringed upon.34 In practice, systems like the Gospel are not designed to replace human judgment, but rather to support it.35 Indeed, IDF commanders remain the ultimate decisionmaking authority when it comes to targeting.36 The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the IDF Intelligence Directorate provides explicit guidelines on when and how to classify an object or person as a target.37 A fundamental principle of the SOP is that this identification process must always be conducted by a trained and authorized human intelligence analyst. Additionally, any target identified by an intelligence analyst must be approved by an authorized intelligence officer. Any AI based application used by the IDF to support this process must be deployed in compliance with the SOP (alongside IHL obligations, which are entwined into the IDF protocols and procedures). As can be seen, the target identification by intelligence analysts is part of a wider and longer targeting process. 17. David Hambling, “Israel Rolls Out Legion-X Drone Swarm for The Urban Battlefield,” FORBES (October 24, 2022), available at https://www.forbes.com/sites/ davidhambling/2022/10/24/israel-rolls-out-legion-xdrone-swarm-for-the-urban-battlefield/?sh=74e383534f49 18. In the 2023-2024 Israel-Hamas war, this system reduced the number of casualties notwithstanding the large number of rockets launched from Gaza, Lebanon and other areas (like Syria, Yemen and Iran). See Gutman Ramachandra, “How Artificial Intelligence is Improving Iron Dome,” MEDIUM (May 13, 2023), available at https://medium.com/@gautamrbharadwaj/how-ai-isimproving-iron-dome-3894cd3668f9 19. IDF Editorial team, “The IDF's New Artificial Intelligence Can Tell You What's Happening in a Video” (Dec. 15, 2016), available at https://www.idf.il/en/mini-sites/ technology-and-innovation/the-idf-s-new-artificialintelligence-can-tell-you-what-s-happening-in-a-video/ (“IDF Editorial team, AI Borders system”). 20. Justin Salhani, “Did Israel's overreliance on tech cause October 7 intelligence failure?” ALJAZEERA (Dec. 9, 2023), available at https://www.aljazeera.com/ features/2023/12/9/did-israels-overreliance-on-techcause-october-7-intelligence-failure#:~:text=But%20 a%20particular%20overreliance%20on,any%20 attack%2C%20according%20to%20Ziv 21. Yonah Jeremy Bob, “Is the IDF's AI revolution a technology or ethics issue? – analysis,” THE JERUSALEM POST (July 17, 2023), available at https://www.jpost. com/israel-news/defense-news/article-750397 22. Peter Aitken & Andrew Murray, “Israel leads with early AI battlefield integration: The future of defense systems,” FOX NEWS (April 21, 2023), available at https://www. foxnews.com/world/israel-leads-early-ai-battlefieldintegration-future-defense-systems 23. Harry Davies, Bethan McKernan and Dan Sabbagh, “‘The Gospel’: How Israel uses AI to select bombing targets in Gaza,” THE GUARDIAN (Dec. 1, 2023), available at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/01/ the-gospel-how-israel-uses-ai-to-select-bombingtargets#:~:text=The%20latest%20Israel%2DHamas%20 war,targets%20that%20officials%20have%20compared (“Davies, McKernan & Sabbagh, the Gospel”). 24. Yuval Abraham, “A mass assassination factory: Inside Israel's calculated bombing of Gaza,” +972 MAGAZINE (Nov. 30, 2023), available at https://www.972mag.com/ mass-assassination-factory-israel-calculated-bombinggaza/ (“Abraham, A mass assassination factory”). 25. Mei Ching Liu, “The Case for AI-Based Decision Support Systems Oversight,” RSIS (Aug. 7, 2024), available at https://rsis.edu.sg/rsis-publication/idss/ip24063-the-casefor-ai-based-decision-support-systems-oversight/
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