As AI transforms warfare and diplomacy, revising the Vienna Convention could provide the legal foundation to counter cyber threats, deepfakes, and digital sovereignty disputes.

The expansion and acceleration of digital diplomacy, partly due to Covid-19, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in international affairs represent several opportunities and threats to states, especially from states and criminal organizations intent on undermining the existing international order. The weaponization of AI and machine learning comes in many forms, with the Microsoft “Tay” chatbot incident in March 2016 exemplifying the risk associated with malicious data inputs. The use of AI on the battlefield, largely through Autonomous Weapons Systems (AWS), makes its use potentially more destructive than other forms of discriminate technology. It is therefore essential that an effective international framework contributes to upholding and extending existing legal frameworks.

Revising the Vienna Convention-

The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 is a cornerstone of modern diplomatic relations, which codifies relations between states, including aspects such as diplomatic immunity, inviolability, and functions of diplomatic missions. If revised to include digital and AI dimensions, it could be the legal lynchpin that facilitates landmark legal agreements across interrelated domains. So far, AI agreements have only been partial at best, with countries such as the United Kingdom citing issues of national security and concerns about “global governance”.

By pursuing digital and AI strategies based on this legal framework, it could better integrate forward-looking tech issues with existing norms and legal precedents. Specifically, Article 27, which addresses the relationship between a state’s law and obligations under international treaties, could be updated to include digital communications (email and cloud-based). Articles 22-24, which focus on the inviolability of diplomatic missions, could be updated to give greater protection to digital infrastructure, servers, and cloud platforms, with further protection added for data sovereignty, especially on the unsanctioned use of personal data obtained from public spaces.

AI, Security, and Humanitarian Law-

One outcome from a revised Vienna Convention might be greater clarity on International Humanitarian Law (IHL) that deals with Autonomous Weapons Systems (AWS) that pose an immediate threat to human rights. This threat has mainly occurred due to military AI systems that make implicit presumptions about gender, ethnicity, ability, and other sensitive traits, which may misidentify dangers and non-threats, make inaccurate evaluations of humanitarian requirements, and engage in intrusive monitoring and surveillance procedures, including the aforementioned unsanctioned use of personal data. For example, a United Nations report on a conflict in Libya in 2020 suggested autonomous drones may have been used to target combatants without direct human oversight. 

Given the sustained and negative impacts from cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure and the mistrust engendered by deep fakes using AI or the use of bots when used as part of disinformation or harassment campaigns, agreement in this area could significantly constrain their use. So far in 2025, major cyber-attacks and data breach incidents have included a China-linked breach disclosed by the US Treasury Department, SonicWall SMA Attacks linked to a cybercriminal group, and a hacker group called Scattered Spider targeting high-profile companies such as Qantas. Disinformation has also become a persistent feature, especially during election campaigns; in 2019, the Oxford Internet Institute reported state-sponsored online harassment of activists and opposition members in 47 out of 70 countries surveyed. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been looking at cybersecurity with respect to both regular and irregular warfare since the early 2000s. A full agreement may also enhance opportunities for small states, in particular, to benefit from cooperation with pooled resources, including cloud infrastructure.

Despite many states having a common interest in addressing a range of digital challenges such as these, the rise of state-backed hybrid warfare (including cyber-attacks), digital decoupling from vendors of adversarial states, and digital sovereignty (erecting borders to control information flows, for example), represents key obstacles to achieving a revised and comprehensive agreement.

AI, therefore, presents complex ethical and strategic issues, but it also provides for some effective and innovative diplomatic instruments. As countries want to maintain control over their digital environments while participating in the global digital economy, digital sovereignty is emerging as a significant challenge.

Navigating this rapidly changing digital environment will need international collaboration, the creation of common standards, and a sophisticated comprehension of the relationship between international law, state concerns about AI, and interests linked to digital sovereignty. Digitalization is a feature of contemporary life that is becoming inextricably linked to political and human affairs management, including diplomacy, rather than an external challenge that diplomats can be trained to manage effectively as a stand-alone subject.

By taking a global perspective on tackling these challenges, it might necessitate revisiting the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Whilst there is an inherent risk that a holistic approach such as this could be slow and cumbersome, a piecemeal approach at the foundational level will not provide initial consensus or universality that will make further agreements in this area effective.