Archive · 1 Oct 2025
AI Warfare, Military Euphemisms & Rebranding Violence
War is changing!
Instead of old-fashioned battles, it's becoming like a computer game.
The military uses fancy words to hide what's happening, like calling killing 'precision strikes'.
Technology, such as AI, is used in ways that distance decision-makers from the consequences.
This affects people, especially those in conflict zones who are often ignored.
To fix this, we need to call war what it is, and include different people, like nurses and poets, in decisions about war.
War is being rebranded with technocratic language and AI-driven systems.
Military euphemisms are used to sanitize state violence and distance decision-makers.
AI-based targeting systems are utilized, as exemplified by the Israel Defense Forces.
International law is applied selectively, often based on geopolitical interests.
There is a call to unlearn the language of war and diversify decision-making.
- Who
- Military strategists, defense contractors, policymakers
- What
- The rebranding of war through technology and language
- When
- Ongoing
- Where
- Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Manipur, Tigray, Darfur, Myanmar, and Yemen
- Why
- To sanitize state violence and obscure the human cost of war
Proponents of Current Practices
Critics of Current Practices
Use of Language
Proponents of Current Practices
Use of precise language and technological terms to maintain strategic advantage.
Critics of Current Practices
Language sanitizes violence and dehumanizes the victims.
Use of AI in Warfare
Proponents of Current Practices
AI increases efficiency and precision in military operations.
Critics of Current Practices
AI obscures moral responsibility and increases the risk of civilian casualties.
Application of International Law
Proponents of Current Practices
The existing framework of law is effective and protects human rights.
Critics of Current Practices
The law is applied selectively and is subservient to geopolitics.
- Focus
- Rebranding of war in the 21st century through language and technology
- Key Issues
- Use of AI in warfare, military euphemisms, selective application of international law
- Examples of Rebranding
- 'Precision strikes' instead of bombing, 'collateral damage' for civilian deaths
- Location of AI use
- Israel Defense Forces targeting systems, others like the US Joint All-Domain Command and Control
- Affected Groups
- People of color, women, and those in the Global South
- Proposed Solution
- Epistemic disobedience, redefining security studies, and diversifying the war room