Challenges and Prospects of the Legal Regulation of Robotics

Abstract

The modern world almost continuously emphasizes the importance of new challenges and solutions in all areas and fields of life for humanity. The emergence of new technologies and the improvement of conventional mechanisms to meet the demands of digital reality pose new challenges for any social science and practice; the role of law as a tool of regulatory influence on public relations becomes of particular importance. Recently, the issue of regulation of ubiquitous artificial intelligence, cyberphysical systems, advanced “smart” robots and other achievements of engineering science has become of primary importance for the Russian and world legal science. The authors of the article have analyzed the issues of possible approaches to the robotics legal regulation. Due to the latest trends in the development of legal norms on robotics in foreign countries, in particular in the European Union, the issues of legislative recognition and determination of the robot’s status, i.e. the prospect of robots becoming legally capable, or strengthening and clarifying the legal regime of the robot exclusively as an object of legal regulation become topical. The paper is devoted to studying topical issues of possible directions of legal regulation of robotics and analyzing the main approaches to determining the legal status of robots and liability for harm caused by them in the autonomous performance of actions.