Is Artificial Intelligence drifting into a legal limbo?
Earlier in November, Sophia has become the first humanoid to receive citizenship. Since the announcement at a tech conference in Saudi Arabia, she took the Internet by storm. Having already made various public appearances, she has become the first robot celebrity. But her citizenship doesn’t seem to inspire. It sparks trepidation about a bleak future for migrant workers and minorities, competing for civil rights with robots. To some, the Kingdom’s move was a PR stunt to promote a local tech summit and may not be worth a second thought. To me, it marks the beginning of a much needed debate on the legal implications of AI becoming an integral part of human society.
Does it seem right for machines or software to have the same rights, i.e., to democracy, as we do? If so, political leaders could mass produce their artificial voters and supporters. Not that the manipulation by bots isn’t already happening — algorithms have in fact contributed to the outcome of the U.S. election. Chatbots become a widely used tool of social engineering and shape mass movements. From this point of view, treating bots as equals seems to be an outright mockery of citizen rights.
How do we go about protecting the interests of humans engaging with machines? Who will be responsible for mistakes, bugs, or decisions made by robots that inflict on humans? The European Union has voted to grant legal status of robots as an attempt to establish “basic ethical principles”. Their new concept of electronic persons is also the first step to define the machines’ accountability for their “acts or omissions.” But how will humans find a way to punish an autonomous drone that, on purpose, falls on someone’s head? Will any legal framework be enough to stop it? A permanent switch-off would cause its owner trouble, but who will make up for the damages? Should its owner, designer or user be responsible for the drone’s malicious personality? Such issues need a legal framework before conflicts humans and AI arise.
Depening on how quickly technology advances, we could be at the mercy of robots sooner than we think. As humans, we will soon be granting algorithms the power to decide on human life and death. AI and the architects of advanced software will be entering God mode.
In cases of danger, autonomous cars might be given the choice between killing 4 or injuring 20. With full information about an accident, AI will control the hit to optimise the number of victims. Moreover, having access to profiles of people involved, it could choose who survives. If the model takes into account your young age or high annual profits, will you be more likely to be spared? Will the system retrieve the information about your late tax filing and choose to save a more exemplary citizen instead?
AI is bound to make rational decisions, but they might not always be ethically sound. Since machines can’t cope with moral dilemmas, who will take the blame? How will humans feel when robots reduce our lives to a couple of equations? By giving more responsabilities to machines, we will build ourselves a new reality. It will be different and more complex, but will it be safer?
Pioneers of robotics and AI scientists also see the threat of this technology. In their letters, they urge the Canadian and Australian prime ministers to take a stance against using autonomous weapons on battlefields. They want to classify AI as a weapon of mass destruction requiring appropriate legal regulations. This could be the first area where AI would be subject to international standards, and would be a step in the right direction.
Governments need to control disputes that will arise in relation to unregulated spheres. From a legal point of view, AI, humanoids, blockchain-based systems, or cryptocurrencies still remain an unknown territory. Legislation doesn’t seem to keep up with the various areas that are already affected. We assume that with AI, what isn’t illegal is allowed, and for now it works. We set on a bumpy ride as we increase our exposure to artificial angels and demons that we create.
