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About

Migle Laukyte is a legal scholar and philosopher whose work sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence, ethics, and legal personhood. Her research explores the boundaries of rights and responsibilities, asking whether non-human entities—from animals to social robots and corporations—might one day be considered subjects of law. In her most cited work, "Social Robots: Boundaries, Potential, Challenges" (2017, 34 citations), she critically examines the ethical and legal implications of integrating autonomous machines into society. A particularly notable contribution is her 2013 paper, "The capabilities approach as a bridge between animals and robots" (4 citations), where she argues that robots, as artificially intelligent and autonomous entities, could eventually be regarded as subjects of rights. Drawing on Martha Nussbaum’s capabilities approach—originally applied to animal entitlements—Laukyte builds a provocative case for extending moral and legal consideration beyond the human. Her more recent work, including "Against Human Exceptionalism: Environmental Ethics and the Machine Question" (2019, 5 citations), challenges anthropocentric frameworks, positioning her at the forefront of debates on machine ethics and posthuman law. Though her citation counts are modest, her ideas are foundational for scholars exploring the legal status of intelligent machines.