Militaries may soon begin to develop and deploy predictive algorithms for use during armed conflicts to help them assess which actors are dangerous for purposes of detention and where future attacks are likely to occur for purposes of patrolling and targeting. The U.S. criminal justice system has already turned to predictive algorithms to help it make more objective judgments about who to keep in custody and more efficient decisions about where to deploy police resources. In a recent article called Predicting Enemies, I wrote about this possibility and discussed the parallels between goals such as these on the military side and those of the U.S. criminal justice system. Here, I build upon that article, highlighting important additional considerations that militaries should weigh as they evaluate how predictive algorithms can help them perform their missions.

Citation
Ashley S. Deeks, Detaining by Algorithm, Humanitarian Law & Policy (March 25, 2019).