Autonomous Cyber Defense and the Future of Digital Conflicts Without Human Intervention

The thwarting of the global cyberattack using completely autonomous defensive systems signals a radical change in the nature of future digital conflicts and warfare. We are now witnessing digital battlefields managed by algorithms where attacks and defenses are executed at speeds exceeding human cognitive capacity. This increasing reliance on autonomous machines to secure cyberspace raises legal questions regarding "responsibility" in the event of algorithmic errors leading to damage to civilian infrastructure. International armed conflict law is in dire need of fundamental updates that accommodate the dynamics of self-deciding machines, and establish mechanisms for legal accountability to ensure the digital space does not turn into a jungle ruled by autonomous machines away from human oversight and supervision.