Dustin Lewis Discusses Algorithmic Decision-Making

Dustin A. Lewis, Senior Researcher at the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict (PILAC) joined YLS students over lunch on Tuesday, January 17. Mr. Lewis lectured about how decisions at war have become increasingly dependent on algorithms, which are now embedded in weapons, logistics, and other military systems.

Mr. Lewis introduced the audience to the concept of algorithmic decision-making, as well as the way contemporary international humanitarian law (IHL) applies to it. At times, he argued, the basic tenets of IHL are immensely challenging to “codify,” for example, the principle of proportionality, which requires the weighing of collateral damage as opposed to anticipated military advantage from an attack. The ambiguousness and vagueness of these concepts is what makes it challenging in their application to AI and algorithms.

Mr. Lewis discussed PILAC’s recent report on “War-Algorithm Accountability,” which lists the various challenges of accountability in relation to the quickly evolving technological battlefield. These challenges include state responsibility for internationally wrongful acts, individual criminal liability under international criminal law, and scrutiny governance—monitoring the developments in the sphere of algorithmic decision-making in conflict, as well as the creation of binding and non-binding norms.

Dustin A. Lewis is a Senior Researcher at the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict (PILAC). With a focus on public international law sources and methodologies, Mr. Lewis leads PILAC research projects on the theoretical underpinnings and application of international norms related to contemporary challenges concerning armed conflict. He explores legal—as well as policy, technical, and ethical—dimensions of such topics as war algorithms; wartime medical care for terrorists; extraterritorial use of lethal force; the goals of war and the end of war; and dilemmas at the intersection of counterterrorism frameworks and principled humanitarian action. Mr. Lewis oversees the Program’s publications, research assistants, and online platforms. And he regularly briefs government officials, United Nations system actors, members of the media, and NGOs.

The talk was co-sponsored by the Center for Global Legal Challenges and the Information Society Project.