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Contradictory Understandings of "Robot" Sow Confusion In US Law (medium.com)

Posted by timothy on from the this-one-just-heats-and-browns-bread dept.

Hallie Siegel writes: A new paper covering 60 years of robotics in American case law shows that a growing mismatch between how judges think about robots and what contemporary robots can actually do is resulting in inconsistent treatment of how robots are dealt with in the courts. Interestingly, much of this confusion comes down to the definition of the word robot; dictionaries' definitions often contradict each other. This article presents the case that lawmakers and policy makers need to work more closely with technology experts to develop a more nuanced understanding of robotics, lest new technologies overwhelm our legal systems.

4 of 100 comments (clear)

  1. More importantly... by Fire_Wraith · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What I want to know is how US law views various other robot-like devices. For instance, is a giant robot that's piloted by a human considered a robot?
    What about a tele-operated robot, or a waldo?
    Likewise, is a drone considered a robot? At what degree of autonomy does it become considered one?

    1. Re:More importantly... by bws111 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Those questions are pretty much what the paper is about. One of the examples given was a marine salvage case, where a salvage team found a shipwreck that was about a mile and a half deep. It was too deep/too dangerous to dive, so they sent some autonomous subs down. Then they went to court to keep other salvagers away. The court decided that because the people were right above the wreck, and sending humans down was dangerous, the robots could stand in for the humans. The other salvagers were ordered to stay away, just like they would be if humans were diving. But it then raises the question: what if the humans had been on land? Would it still count? Tricky questions.

  2. The part nearly all current definitions miss... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    autonomy.

    Robots work based on stored directions, without needing direct human control. None of the current "robots" (other than those in manufacturing) are actually autonomous. The experiments in walking, yes, as the determination of "how" is done by the machine itself, not the person that directs "where" to walk.

    The others are actually "drones", being fully controlled by a human or (in some cases, an animal).

  3. The definition of "robot" is time-dependent by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 3, Interesting

    A robot is a machine that can do a human's job. Over time, we cease to think of these jobs as human occupations, and thus we cease to think of the devices as robots. Consider these occupations:

    • Elevator operator
    • Washerwoman (it's old enough that I won't say "washerperson")
    • Computer (yes, that was an occupation)
    • Telephone answering service person
    • Telephone operator
    • Copyist
    --
    Bruce Perens.