Singularity and the Art of Warfighters: The Geneva Convention on Trial

This is his fifth upgrade. Corporal Marcus, a soldier from the Elite Shock Regiment taps on the BrainInterface app on his communication device to upgrade a computer chip implanted in his head. The chip possesses a number of functionalities, including the provision of biofeedback and erasure of traumatic battlefield experiences. Early this afternoon, the entire regiment were given intravenous drugs designed to suppress fear and anxiety and help generate cells to self-heal damaged tissues and organs. Recent intelligence suggests that the enemy is likely to use a number of well-known chemical and biological weapons.Technological and biological enhancement of warfighters may be a game changer. The expectation here is that convergence in technology and sciences will help alleviate many natural human frailties of warfighters. Whether one accepts Ray Kurzweil’s optimistic view of our posthuman futures and singularity, modern warfare is already being transformed by innovation and information communication technologies. The potential use of new technological and biological resources to augment warfighters with enhanced biological and technological capabilities may end up adding to growing unease about the speed with which new technologies are de- humanising warfare. Do we need to anticipate these new developments by putting in place technology specific regulations? How should organisations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) or International Committee for Robot Arms Control (IRAC) respond to futuristic warfighters in the rapidly evolving battlefield? In their comprehensive study of enhanced warfighters, Lin et al. (2013, p. 29) conclude that regulatory oversight could be maintained under Geneva Additional Protocol I (API) Article 36 by regarding enhanced warfighters as new weapons. I suggest that understanding the nature of the problem of disconnection is an essential prelude to ensuring that debates on emerging and futuristic technologies reflect the complexity of interactions between law, technology and policy.