AI, Accountability, and Civilian Harm

About this episode

The episode discusses the impact of artificial intelligence on military decision making and its implications for civilian harm and accountability.

In this episode, Mae Thompson speaks with Prof Luke Moffett, Dr Jessica Dorsey, and Chris Rogers about how artificial intelligence is already reshaping military decision making and what that means for civilian harm, accountability, and redress. The guests distinguish AI‑enabled decision support from lethal autonomy, unpack the cognitive risks of automation bias, anchoring, and de‑skilling, and consider how AI might responsibly support civilian‑harm tracking and investigations through data fusion and triage. They discuss the “triple black box” of accountability (model opacity, military secrecy, and diffused responsibility), the importance of lawful‑by‑design guardrails across the AI lifecycle, and why NGOs must pair new tools with people‑centred documentation. Looking ahead, they reflect on opportunities for a UK statutory redress scheme to deliver prompt acknowledgement, amends, and mitigation—keeping accountability pace with capability while centring affected communities. Prof Luke Moffett — Chair of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, Queen’s University Belfast; author of Algorithms of War: The Human Cost of AI and Conflict (forthcoming, Bristol University Press)…

People in this episode

Host: Luke Moffett

Guests: Chris Rogers, Prof Luke Moffett, Dr Jessica Dorsey

Topics covered

• artificial intelligence
• military decision making
• civilian harm
• accountability
• redress

Keywords

• automation bias
• cognitive risks
• AI lifecycle
• NGOs
• UK statutory redress scheme

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Algorithms of War: The Human Cost of AI and Conflict

Books & works: Algorithms of War: The Human Cost of AI and Conflict, Civilian Harm in Conflict, Reparations during Armed Conflict

Places: UK, Belfast, U.S.

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