Thomas Weigend

About

Thomas Weigend is a distinguished legal scholar whose work sits at the intersection of criminal law and emerging technology. He has made significant contributions to the field through his pioneering analysis of criminal liability in the age of autonomous systems, most notably self-driving vehicles. His landmark 2016 paper, "If Robots Cause Harm, Who Is to Blame? Self-Driving Cars and Criminal Liability," has accumulated over 170 citations, establishing him as a leading voice in a rapidly evolving area of legal scholarship. In this influential work, Weigend confronts one of the most pressing jurisprudential challenges of our time: how traditional frameworks of criminal responsibility apply when harm is caused by autonomous machines incapable of moral agency or subjective intent. By demonstrating that robots, as currently conceived, cannot be suitable recipients of criminal punishment, he redirects attention toward the human actors — manufacturers, programmers, and operators — who design and deploy such systems. His scholarship has proven invaluable to legal theorists, policymakers, and technologists grappling with accountability in an increasingly automated world, making his contributions essential reading for anyone navigating the legal frontiers of artificial intelligence.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   If Robots cause harm, Who is to blame? Self-driving Cars and Criminal Liability

   170 citations · 2016
2. 2
   If Robots Cause Harm, Who is to Blame? Self-Driving Cars and Criminal Liability

   42 citations · 2016

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links