Robot, Inc.: Personhood for Autonomous Systems?

Abstract

Since the invention of the steam engine, technological progress has served as a driver of innovation for liability systems. Pertinent examples include the arrival of the railway and the introduction of motor-powered vehicles. Today, the digital revolution challenges established legal axioms more fundamentally than technological innovations from earlier times. The development of robots and other digital agents operating with the help of artificial intelligence will transform many, if not all, product markets. It will also blur the distinction between goods and services and call into question the existing allocation of responsibility between manufacturers and suppliers on one side and owners, operators, and users of such devices on the other.