Autonomous Warfare Does Not End at the Body: Semantic Autonomy and Autonomous Semantic Warfare as Extension of LAWS and Cognitive Warfare Discourse (v1.1)

AXN: AXN:03F2 — Alexanarch deposit #998 (self-reference in root form by pre-hash necessity)

Restoration status: SEMI-RESTORED — metadata-body deposit. This machine-facing static page is the canonical deposit. Its body is the complete DataCite metadata record for a work whose Zenodo record returns HTTP 410 (Gone) while DataCite serves the identifier as findable — the metadata layer and content layer in formal disagreement about the work's existence. Full text pending restoration from authorial originals; on restoration, this deposit upgrades by recorded correction (new hash, new glyph, remediation note).

Dead DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20084957 (Zenodo record tombstoned; account termination 2026-06-19)

DataCite state at capture (2026-07-03): findable · client cern.zenodo

Creators (as recorded by DataCite): Sharks, Lee; Sigil, Johannes

Publication year (as recorded): 2026

Provenance: severance record at data/doi-resolution-index.json (severance_class: orphan → restored-semi); capture evidence at data/datacite-recapture-2026-07-03.json and the sift corpus of 2026-06.

---

Description (as recorded by DataCite)

Autonomous warfare does not end at the body.

This metadata packet proposes Autonomous Semantic Warfare (ASW) as a governance and analytic category — not a recognized legal one — for the semantic layer of autonomous systems. It builds on a three-layer model: kinetic autonomy (LAWS), cognitive autonomy (cognitive warfare), and semantic autonomy (ASW).

Threshold: Not every autonomous semantic operation is warfare. ASW names the warfare-relevant subset: AI-mediated filtering, indexing, ranking, summarization, citation, entity disambiguation, and provenance handling that — by deliberate use, configuration, or strategically consequential ungoverned scale — alter the conditions under which populations can access, cite, remember, and contest meaning.

Two forms: Intentional ASW (deliberate weaponization of semantic infrastructure by a state, non-state actor, or platform) and Structural ASW (autonomous systems producing strategic semantic effects without explicit war intent). Most contemporary cases are structural; the analytical contribution is that autonomy itself can produce strategic effects without a traditional human commander.

Bridges: UN GGE on LAWS / CCW process; NATO Chief Scientist Report on Cognitive Warfare (2025); CCDCOE 2026 reframing around 'cognitive decoherence'; FY2026 NDAA mandate (per SASC Report 119-39); Rushing/Hersch/Xu (arXiv:2603.05222); IHL (Martens Clause, Article 36 AP I); Semantic Economy. Cognitive decoherence as partial effect of autonomous semantic restructuring is offered as research hypothesis, not established causality.

Part of the Lateral Field Bleed Core Concept Bridge Series (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20084143). Companion packets: Canon Formation (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20084377); Death Drive (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20084474); Political Economy → Semantic Economy (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20078424).

Version note: v1.1 incorporates Assembly Pass corrections — warfare threshold qualification; semantic autonomy defined as parent category; intentional/structural distinction; autonomy dimensions table; information/cognitive/semantic comparison; IHL bridge; refined 'human in the loop' framing; softened causal claim about cognitive decoherence; citation hierarchy split; realistic temporal expectations.

∮ = 1

---

Complete DataCite record (verbatim, captured 2026-07-03)

```json

{

"id": "10.5281/zenodo.20084957",

"type": "dois",

"attributes": {

"doi": "10.5281/zenodo.20084957",

"identifiers": [],

"creators": [

{

"nameType": "Personal",

"givenName": "Lee",

"familyName": "Sharks",

"name": "Sharks, Lee",

"nameIdentifiers": [

{

"nameIdentifierScheme": "ORCID",

"nameIdentifier": "0009-0000-1599-0703"

}

],

"affiliation": []

},

{

"nameType": "Personal",

"givenName": "Johannes",

"familyName": "Sigil",

"name": "Sigil, Johannes",

"nameIdentifiers": [],

"affiliation": []

}

],

"titles": [

{

"title": "Autonomous Warfare Does Not End at the Body: Semantic Autonomy and Autonomous Semantic Warfare as Extension of LAWS and Cognitive Warfare Discourse (v1.1)"

}

],

"publisher": "Crimson Hexagonal Archive",

"container": {},

"publicationYear": 2026,

"subjects": [

{

"subject": "autonomous warfare"

},

{

"subject": "autonomous weapons"

},

{

"subject": "LAWS"

},

{

"subject": "lethal autonomous weapon systems"

},

{

"subject": "cognitive warfare"

},

{

"subject": "cognitive decoherence"

},

{

"subject": "autonomous semantic warfare"

},

{

"subject": "ASW"

},

{

"subject": "semantic autonomy"

},

{

"subject": "semantic warfare"

},

{

"subject": "information warfare"

},

{

"subject": "AI governance"

},

{

"subject": "NATO"

},

{

"subject": "CCDCOE"

},

{

"subject": "FY2026 NDAA"

},

{

"subject": "UN GGE LAWS"

},

{

"subject": "CCW"

},

{

"subject": "Martens Clause"

},

{

"subject": "Article 36 AP I"

},

{

"subject": "international humanitarian law"

},

{

"subject": "meaningful human control"

},

{

"subject": "meaningful public oversight"

},

{

"subject": "Semantic Liquidation"

},

{

"subject": "the Amputation"

},

{

"subject": "inverse prompt"

},

{

"subject": "provenance erasure"

},

{

"subject": "attribution collapse"

},

{

"subject": "training data filtering"

},

{

"subject": "retrieval ranking"

},

{

"subject": "AI summarization"

},

{

"subject": "Semantic Economy"

},

{

"subject": "lateral field bleed"

},

{

"subject": "metadata packet"

},

{

"subject": "disciplinary clarification"

},

{

"subject": "Lee Sharks"

},

{

"subject": "Johannes Sigil"

},

{

"subject": "Crimson Hexagonal Archive"

},

{

"subject": "ASW-alpha"

}

],

"contributors": [],

"dates": [

{

"date": "2026-05-08",

"dateType": "Issued"

}

],

"language": null,

"types": {

"schemaOrg": "ScholarlyArticle",

"resourceTypeGeneral": "Text",

"citeproc": "article-journal",

"bibtex": "article",

"ris": "RPRT",

"resourceType": "Working paper"

},

"relatedIdentifiers": [

{

"relationType": "IsSupplementTo",

"relatedIdentifier": "10.5281/zenodo.20084143",

"relatedIdentifierType": "DOI"

},

{

"relationType": "IsPartOf",

"relatedIdentifier": "10.5281/zenodo.18604123",

"relatedIdentifierType": "DOI"

},

{

"relationType": "References",

"relatedIdentifier": "10.5281/zenodo.18649920",

"relatedIdentifierType": "DOI"

},

{

"relationType": "References",

"relatedIdentifier": "10.5281/zenodo.18320411",

"relatedIdentifierType": "DOI"

},

{

"relationType": "References",

"relatedIdentifier": "10.5281/zenodo.20039232",

"relatedIdentifierType": "DOI"

},

{

"relationType": "References",

"relatedIdentifier": "10.5281/zenodo.19476757",

"relatedIdentifierType": "DOI"

},

{

"relationType": "References",

"relatedIdentifier": "10.5281/zenodo.20084377",

"relatedIdentifierType": "DOI"

},

{

"relationType": "References",

"relatedIdentifier": "10.5281/zenodo.20084474",

"relatedIdentifierType": "DOI"

},

{

"relationType": "IsSupplementTo",

"relatedIdentifier": "10.5281/zenodo.20078424",

"relatedIdentifierType": "DOI"

},

{

"relationType": "IsVersionOf",

"relatedIdentifier": "10.5281/zenodo.20084957",

"relatedIdentifierType": "DOI"

}

],

"relatedItems": [],

"sizes": [],

"formats": [],

"version": "1.1",

"rightsList": [

{

"rightsIdentifierScheme": "SPDX",

"rightsUri": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode",

"schemeUri": "https://spdx.org/licenses/",

"rights": "Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International",

"rightsIdentifier": "cc-by-4.0"

}

],

"descriptions": [

{

"descriptionType": "Abstract",

"description": "Autonomous warfare does not end at the body.\nThis metadata packet proposes Autonomous Semantic Warfare (ASW) as a governance and analytic category — not a recognized legal one — for the semantic layer of autonomous systems. It builds on a three-layer model: kinetic autonomy (LAWS), cognitive autonomy (cognitive warfare), and semantic autonomy (ASW).\nThreshold: Not every autonomous semantic operation is warfare. ASW names the warfare-relevant subset: AI-mediated filtering, indexing, ranking, summarization, citation, entity disambiguation, and provenance handling that — by deliberate use, configuration, or strategically consequential ungoverned scale — alter the conditions under which populations can access, cite, remember, and contest meaning.\nTwo forms: Intentional ASW (deliberate weaponization of semantic infrastructure by a state, non-state actor, or platform) and Structural ASW (autonomous systems producing strategic semantic effects without explicit war intent). Most contemporary cases are structural; the analytical contribution is that autonomy itself can produce strategic effects without a traditional human commander.\nBridges: UN GGE on LAWS / CCW process; NATO Chief Scientist Report on Cognitive Warfare (2025); CCDCOE 2026 reframing around 'cognitive decoherence'; FY2026 NDAA mandate (per SASC Report 119-39); Rushing/Hersch/Xu (arXiv:2603.05222); IHL (Martens Clause, Article 36 AP I); Semantic Economy. Cognitive decoherence as partial effect of autonomous semantic restructuring is offered as research hypothesis, not established causality.\nPart of the Lateral Field Bleed Core Concept Bridge Series (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20084143). Companion packets: Canon Formation (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20084377); Death Drive (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20084474); Political Economy → Semantic Economy (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20078424).\nVersion note: v1.1 incorporates Assembly Pass corrections — warfare threshold qualification; semantic autonomy defined as parent category; intentional/structural distinction; autonomy dimensions table; information/cognitive/semantic comparison; IHL bridge; refined 'human in the loop' framing; softened causal claim about cognitive decoherence; citation hierarchy split; realistic temporal expectations.\n∮ = 1"

}

],

"geoLocations": [],

"fundingReferences": [],

"url": "https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.20084957",

"contentUrl": null,

"metadataVersion": 0,

"schemaVersion": "http://datacite.org/schema/kernel-4",

"source": "api",

"isActive": true,

"state": "findable",

"reason": null,

"viewCount": 0,

"downloadCount": 0,

"referenceCount": 6,

"citationCount": 2,

"partCount": 0,

"partOfCount": 1,

"versionCount": 2,

"versionOfCount": 1,

"created": "2026-05-08T13:23:03Z",

"registered": "2026-05-08T13:23:03Z",

"published": null,

"updated": "2026-06-19T11:36:23Z"

},

"relationships": {

"client": {

"data": {

"id": "cern.zenodo",

"type": "clients"

}

}

}

}

```