A man is in a supermarket, choosing plums from a tray of fruit. Suddenly, the blue bag on his shoulder is shredded by an explosion. The next moment the man is thrown to the ground, crying out in pain.

This scene took place in Lebanon on Tuesday afternoon. Thousands were injured after pagersA small piece electronic device that was carried or worn, pre-mobile phones, which vibrated or made a noise to tell you that someone wanted you to phone them. exploded in pockets, bags and hands.¹

Less than 24 hours later, exploding walkie-talkiesPortable radios for sending and receiving messages. injured hundreds of people, killing at least 20, in the same Middle Eastern country. Most commentators think Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, was responsible for both lots of attacks.

Israel has not commented on the attacks but the Israeli defence minister said his country was opening a "new phase in the war", with the "centre of gravity" shifting towards the north - where Israel borders Lebanon.²

The devices belonged to members of Hezbollah, a Lebanese political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah has a long-standing conflict with neighbouring Israel, and recently replaced members' mobile phones with old-fashioned pagers in a bid to increase security.

It is not the first time Mossad has used technology in unexpected ways. In 2020, Israeli spies shot a nuclear scientist in Iran using a robot machine gun.³

In Ukraine, technology is also changing the nature of war. Drones are becoming a vital part of the conflict with Russia.⁴ And weapon systems are increasingly relying on AI to find, track and target enemy fighters.

Soon, AI technology will decide whether to attack a target. This will replace human responsibility with a machine that has no moral concerns. But, if a computer performs a war crime, who is to blame?

At the same time, this technology lacks precision. Respected academic Noam Lubell argues that such algorithms "cannot be used lawfully".⁵

Those in favour of AI believe it will increase safety for soldiers and improve decision-making.⁶ It is also much better at identifying known targets, ideally reducing the number of non-fighters shot.

Either way, AI technology is already being used by soldiers and intelligence agencies. It is too late for the international community to ban the technology; instead, a legal framework is needed to create clear boundaries.

As the attacks in Lebanon show, armies will keep searching for innovative ways to use weapons. When it comes to war, surprise can mean victory, which makes the future almost impossible to predict.

Should high-tech weapons be banned?

Yes: AI technology replaces human responsibility with a machine. This risks making war even more violent, because computers lack the moral judgement of people.

No: New technologies can actually make war much safer. They will reduce the amount of human error and undertake the most dangerous battlefield tasks.

Or... AI is already being used in modern warfare, from drones to disinformation. A legal framework might limit that use, but armies will keep looking for novel ways to outwit their opponents.