"Robots. Are they people, too?
Science fiction has long consider the legal rights of artificially intelligent beings. But as robots become an increasing presence in our societies and industries, questions about the role of robots in legal decisions, how laws are applied to robots, and the concept of “robot law” itself have begun to emerge.
Ryan Calo of the University of Washington has recently published Robots in American Law, a legal research paper examining the judicial challenges presented by robots—and raising concerns that judges are not equipped to grapple with these new puzzles.
Calo argues that, unlike the internet of the 1990s, robots have already established a legal case history. The '90s saw courts grappling with legal decisions transformed by the previously-unheard-of capabilities of the internet, such as instantaneous transfer of goods and services across borders. Robots, however, have existed in some form for decades, giving them the opportunity to be involved in court cases long before the current explosion in robotics. In three parts, Calo presents a series of case studies, first discussing “robots as objects of law,” moving on to instances where robots were used as “metaphors or analogies that actually drive the decisions of courts,” and finally hypothesizing how existing case law may impact the development of robotics law."
- Date Published:03/12/2016
- Original Publication:Atlas Obscura