★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★Open research. Global perspectives.
editor@theamericanjournals.comPublisher Home ↗
Political Science Law OPEN ACCESS

THE CHALLENGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST CONFLICTS

Tonubari Zigha Bornu
LL. B (UNN), B.L, MSC, Postgraduate Student, City University, Cambodia
DOI Crossref DOI 10.37547/tajpslc/Volume07Issue05-14
tajpslc 2025
VOL. 7 / NO. 05 MAY
FULL TEXT PP. 115-129
DOWNLOAD PDF

View all articles in this issue ↗

VOLUME 7
ISSUE 05
YEAR 2025
PAGES 115-129
RESEARCH OVERVIEW

Abstract

This article examines the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the Middle East Conflict, focusing on the ongoing struggle between Israel and Hamas. It highlights how AI technologies, including surveillance systems, autonomous drones and advanced data analytics are reshaping military tactics, intelligence operations, and conflicts dynamics. The article explores the benefits and risks associated with AI in this context, such as enhanced targeting precision and strategic advantage versus potential ethical dilemmas and unintended consequences. It also considers the implications of AI for regional stability, international norms, and the broader geopolitical land scape through a detailed analysis, the article provides insights into how AI is influencing modern warfare and its potentials to either exacerbate or mitigate conflicts. This article explores the complex challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of conflicts in the Middle East. As nations increasingly adopt AI technologies for military applications, issues such as autonomous weapon systems, surveillance, and data-driven decision-making raise significant ethical and operational concerns. The article examines the technical limitations of AI, including data quality and infrastructure deficiencies in conflict zones, while highlighting the potential risks to civilian safety. Furthermore, it addresses the geopolitical implications of AI advancements, including shifting power dynamics and an arms race among regional actors. The lack of international regulatory frameworks exacerbates these challenges, calling for urgent discussions on ethical guidelines and accountability. Ultimately, the article argues that while AI holds the potential to enhance military capabilities, it also necessitates careful consideration to mitigate its risks and promote peacebuilding efforts in a volatile region.

RESEARCH TOPICS

Keywords

Artificial Intelligence Surveillance Technology Autonomous Drones Military Strategy

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
SOURCES & SCHOLARSHIP

References

  1. Gordon, E. (2022). AI in modern Warfare: implications for the Middle East. Strategic studies quarterly.
  2. Koren, A. (2023). The impact of AI on Middle Eastern Conflicts: A case study. International Security Review.
  3. Levin, D. (2023). Technological Innovations in Israel, Defense Systems; the Role of AI. Defense Technology Journal.
  4. Miller, R. (2023). Hamas and the Digital Battlefield. AI in Asymmetric warfare. Middle East Policy.
  5. Smith, T & Johnson, L. (2024). Ethical challenges of AI in conflict zones. Journal of international ethics.
  6. Brynjolfsson, E., & MC Elheran, K. (2016). The Rapid Rise of AI in Business: A Report on the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the future of work. MIT Sloan Management Review.
  7. Gomez-Uribe, C.A., & Hunt, P. (2015) The Netflix Recommender System: Algorithms, Business Value, and Innovation ACM Transactions on Management Information Systems.
  8. Kumar, V., et al. (2021). Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery; what is Realistic and what is speculative? Nature Reviews Drug Discovery.
  9. Shin, D., et al. (2021)./AI and Accessibility: Enhancing Opportunities for Disabled Individuals. Journal of Assistive Technologies.
  10. TOPOL, E.J. (2019) Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence can make Health Care Human Again. Basic Books.
  11. Arkin, R.C.(2018). Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots. CRC press.
  12. Binnendijk H, & Livicki, M.C. (2019). The AI Revolution in Warfare. RAD Corporation.
  13. Cummings, M.L. (2017). The Role of Humans in Autonomous Systems: A Review International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction.
  14. Heyns, C. (2018). The Right to Life and Autonomous Weapons Systems. International Review of the Red Cross.
  15. Lin, P., et al (2017). The Ethics of Autonomous Weapons Systems. In the Oxford University Press.
  16. Schmitt, M.N. (2020). Artificial Intelligence and the law of Armed Conflict. Harvard National Security Journal.
  17. Gordon, E. (2022). Ai and Military Strategy in the Middle East. Journal of Defense Studies.
  18. Lynch, M. (2021). Information Warfare and AI in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Media and Conflict Review.
  19. Schmitt, M.N. (2020). Artificial Intelligence and the Law of Armed Conflict. Harvard National Security Journal.
  20. Smith, J. (2022). AI and Humanitarian Responses in conflict zones. Humanitarian Technology Review.
  21. Tucker, P. (2020). The Role of AI in Modern Surveillance and Intelligence. Technology and National Security Journal.
  22. Buolamwini, J., & Gebru, T. (2018). Gender Shades: Intersectional Accuracy Disparities in Commercial Gender Classification. Proceedings of the 1st Conference on Fairness, Accountability and Transparency.
  23. Coker, C. (2020). The Rise of AI: The Military’s New Armaments. International Institute for Strategic Studies.
  24. Gonzalez, R. A., et al. (2020). AI in Military Logistics: Opportunities and Challenges. Journal of Defense Analytics.
  25. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). (2019). Autonomous Weapons and International Humanitarian Law.
  26. Kahler, M. (2020). Artificial Intelligence and Peacebuilding: Opportunities and Risks. United Nations University.
  27. Killer Robots Campaign. (2021). Policy Brief: Ban Killer Robots.
  28. Lin, P., et al. (2012). Robot Ethics: The Ethical and Social Implications of Robotics. Cambridge University Press.
  29. Lynch, M. (2016). The Middle East: A Brief History of Conflict. Harvard University Press.
  30. Obermeyer, Z., et al. (2019). Dissecting Racial Bias in an Algorithm Used to Manage the Health of Populations. Science.
  31. Shaw, M. (2016). Drone Warfare and the Challenge of Accountability. Human Rights Quarterly.
  32. Sharkey, N. (2019). The Ethical Implications of Military Autonomous Systems. AI & Society.
  33. Sparrow, R. (2007). Killer Robots. Journal of Applied Philosophy.
  34. Sullivan, J. (2021). Using AI for Conflict Resolution: Challenges and Opportunities. Peace and Conflict Studies.
  35. United Nations (UN). (2016). Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict.
  36. United Nations (UN). (2018). Report of the Secretary-General on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems.
  37. Zuboff, S. (2019). The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. PublicAffairs.
  38. Baker, A. (2021). Israel's Use of AI in Airstrikes: A Look at New Technologies. The Atlantic.
  39. Gordon, E. (2021). Social Media, AI, and the Future of Conflict. The Washington Post.
  40. Gordon, M. R. (2020). The Role of Technology in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. The New York Times.
  41. Hoffman, B. (2019). Cyber Operations in the Israel-Palestine Conflict. RAND Corporation.
  42. Sharkey, N. (2019). The Ethical Implications of Military Autonomous Systems. AI & Society.
  43. United Nations. (2021). The Impact of Armed Conflict on Children: A Report by the Secretary-General.
  44. Barocas, S., Hardt, M., & Narayanan, A. (2019). Fairness and Machine Learning: Limitations and Opportunities.
  45. Buolamwini, J., & Gebru, T. (2018). Gender Shades: Intersectional Accuracy Disparities in Commercial Gender Classification. Proceedings of the 1st Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency.
  46. Crootof, R. (2016). Robots and the Laws of War. The Yale Law Journal Forum.
  47. Gordon, E. (2021). Social Media, AI, and the Future of Conflict. The Washington Post.
  48. Hoffman, B. (2019). Cyber Operations in the Israel-Palestine Conflict. RAND Corporation.
  49. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). (2019). Autonomous Weapons and International Humanitarian Law.
  50. Obermeyer, Z., et al. (2019). Dissecting Racial Bias in an Algorithm Used to Manage the Health of Populations. Science.
  51. Rao, P. S., et al. (2020). Cybersecurity for Artificial Intelligence: A Review. Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy.
  52. Sharkey, N. (2019). The Ethical Implications of Military Autonomous Systems. AI & Society.
  53. United Nations. (2021). The Impact of Armed Conflict on Children: A Report by the Secretary-General.
  54. Buolamwini, J., & Gebru, T. (2018). Gender Shades: Intersectional Accuracy Disparities in Commercial Gender Classification. Proceedings of the 1st Conference on Fairness, Accountability and Transparency.
  55. Coker, C. (2020). The Rise of AI: The Military’s New Armaments. International Institute for Strategic Studies.
  56. Gonzalez, R. A., et al. (2020). AI in Military Logistics: Opportunities and Challenges. Journal of Defense Analytics.
  57. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). (2019). Autonomous Weapons and International Humanitarian Law.
  58. Kahler, M. (2020). Artificial Intelligence and Peacebuilding: Opportunities and Risks. United Nations University.
  59. Killer Robots Campaign. (2021). Policy Brief: Ban Killer Robots.
  60. Lin, P., et al. (2012). Robot Ethics: The Ethical and Social Implications of Robotics. Cambridge University Press.
  61. Lynch, M. (2016). The Middle East: A Brief History of Conflict. Harvard University Press.
  62. Obermeyer, Z., et al. (2019). Dissecting Racial Bias in an Algorithm Used to Manage the Health of Populations. Science.
  63. Shaw, M. (2016). Drone Warfare and the Challenge of Accountability. Human Rights Quarterly.
  64. Sharkey, N. (2019). The Ethical Implications of Military Autonomous Systems. AI & Society.
  65. Sparrow, R. (2007). Killer Robots. Journal of Applied Philosophy.
  66. Sullivan, J. (2021). Using AI for Conflict Resolution: Challenges and Opportunities. Peace and Conflict Studies.
  67. United Nations (UN). (2016). Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict.
  68. United Nations (UN). (2018). Report of the Secretary-General on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems.
  69. Zuboff, S. (2019). The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power.
  70. Bendett, S. (2020). The Implications of AI for National Security. RAND Corporation Report.
  71. Brynjolfsson, E., & McAfee, A. (2014). The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies. W. W. Norton & Company.
  72. Buolamwini, J., & Gebru, T. (2018). Gender Shades: Intersectional Accuracy Disparities in Commercial Gender Classification. Proceedings of the 1st Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency, 77-88.
  73. Gilli, M., Gilli, A., & Cottam, M. (2020). The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Warfare: What is at Stake? Journal of Conflict Resolution, 64(6), 1011-1034.
  74. Horowitz, M. C. (2019). The Ethics and Risks of AI in Warfare. The International Journal of Security Studies, 12(3), 45-68.
  75. Kahn, J., Gal, A., & Hu, Y. (2020). Cybersecurity and AI: The Dual Use Dilemma. Journal of Cyber Policy, 5(1), 43-59.
  76. Lipton, Z. C. (2016). The Mythos of Model Interpretability. Communications of the ACM, 59(10), 36-43.
  77. Scherer, L. (2016). Regulating Artificial Intelligence Systems: Risks, Challenges, Competencies, and Strategies. Harvard Law Review, 126(2), 346-402.
  78. Shaw, I. (2021). Artificial Intelligence and International Law: The Need for Regulatory Frameworks. Journal of International Humanitarian Law, 12(1), 1-20
  79. Binns, R. (2018). Facial Recognition Technology: Ethical and Social Implications. Journal of Ethical AI, 3(2), 45-58.
  80. Cox, J., Lee, T., & Roberts, A. (2020). AI in Military Decision-Making: The Next Frontier. Defense Technology Review, 25(1), 12-29.
  81. Davis, M., & Lentz, R. (2021). Real-Time Intelligence: The Role of AI in Modern Warfare. Journal of Military Affairs, 15(4), 300-315.
  82. Johnson, P. (2021). The Future of Military Training: AI-Driven Simulations. Journal of Defense Studies, 10(3), 78-92.
  83. Khalil, S. (2022). AI in Peacebuilding: Opportunities and Challenges. International Peacekeeping Journal, 29(5), 123-140.
  84. McKinsey & Company. (2021). Artificial Intelligence in Defense: Transforming the Sector. Retrieved from [McKinsey Website].
  85. Murray, M. (2019). Operational Efficiency through AI: The Military's New Frontier. Defense Innovation Journal, 14(2), 56-67.
  86. Schmidt, S. (2020). Targeting with Precision: AI in Modern Warfare. Journal of Military Ethics, 19(1), 22-36.
  87. Sheng, Z. (2020). Cyber Defense in the Age of AI: Opportunities and Threats. Journal of Cybersecurity Studies, 5(3), 201-215.
  88. Zhang, T., Wang, Y., & Liu, J. (2020). AI for Predictive Maintenance in Military Aviation. Aerospace Technology Journal, 11(2), 150-165.
  89. Bendett, S. (2020). The Implications of AI for National Security. RAND Corporation Report.
  90. Brynjolfsson, E., & McAfee, A. (2014). The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies. W. W. Norton & Company.
  91. Buolamwini, J., & Gebru, T. (2018). Gender Shades: Intersectional Accuracy Disparities in Commercial Gender Classification. Proceedings of the 1st Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency, 77-88.
  92. Horowitz, M. C. (2019). The Ethics and Risks of AI in Warfare. The International Journal of Security Studies, 12(3), 45-68.
  93. Kahn, J., Gal, A., & Hu, Y. (2020). Cybersecurity and AI: The Dual Use Dilemma. Journal of Cyber Policy, 5(1), 43-59.
  94. Kello, L. (2017). The Impact of AI on Geopolitics. Survival, 59(3), 7-30.
  95. Lipton, Z. C. (2016). The Mythos of Model Interpretability. Communications of the ACM, 59(10), 36-43.
  96. Scherer, L. (2016). Regulating Artificial Intelligence Systems: Risks, Challenges, Competencies, and Strategies. Harvard Law Review, 126(2), 346-402.
  97. Shaw, I. (2021). Artificial Intelligence and International Law: The Need for Regulatory Frameworks. Journal of International Humanitarian Law, 12(1), 1-20.
  98. Sparrow, R. (2007). Killer Robots. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 24(1), 62-77.
  99. Al-Monitor. (2019). Yemen's war: A humanitarian catastrophe. AL-Monitors
  100. Cordesman, A. H. (2017). The Iran-Saudi Arabia Rivalry and the Future of Middle East Security. Center for Strategic and International Studies
  101. Friedman, T. L. (2020). The Letters of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Penguin Press
  102. Gibbons-Neff, T. (2019). The Role of Foreign Powers in the Syrian Civil War. The New York Times
  103. Gunter, M. M. (2011). The Kurdish Question and Turkey: An Example of a Transnational Ethnic Conflict. Palgrave Macmillian
  104. Haddad, F. (2019). The Syrian War: A Continuing Humanitarian Crisis. Middle East Institute
  105. Khalaf, S. (2002). The Lebanese Civil War: A Historical Overview. Center for Arab Unity Studies
  106. Katzman, K. (2020). Iran-Saudi Arabia Rivalry in the Context of the Middle East. Congressional Research Service
  107. Lynch, M. (2016). The Arab Uprisings: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East. Public Affairs
  108. Mansour, R. (2014). Lebanon’s Civil War: A History. Cambridge University Press
  109. Morris, B. (2001). Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict. Vintage Books.
  110. Natali, D. (2010). The Kurdish Question: A Historical Overview. Middle East Policy Council Journal
  111. Norton, A. R. (2007). Hezbollah: A Short History. Princeton University Press
  112. Pappe, I. (2006). The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. One World Publications
  113. Rudaw. (2018). The Role of the YPG in Syria’s War. Rudaw Media Network @ https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/210320181
  114. Shlaim, A. (2000). The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World. W. W. Norton & Company
  115. Smith, C. (2010). Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A History with Documents. Bedford/St. Martins.
  116. Stansfield, G. (2010). Iraq’s Kurds: A People at the Crossroads. Oxford University Press
  117. UNHCR. (2021). Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2020. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees @ https://www.unhcr.org/globaltrends2020/
  118. Wright, R. (2016). The Islamic State: The History of ISIS. Penguin Press
  119. Wren, C. (2020). The Kurdish Movement in the Middle East. Journal of Middle East Politics. Vol. 12 Issue 2, pg. 30-45
CONTINUE EXPLORING

Most read articles by the same author(s)

Explore other published research by the authors of this article.