Artificial Intelligence and Natural Law: а Challenge to Be Overcome

Abstract

Since the last century, computer science has not stopped growing, innovating and producing changes in society. Facing these changes, the legislator is called to create certain rules that can accompany computer science and, especially, artificial intelligence (AI) in its constant development, providing legal security to users, to the scientific and business community and, in general, to the whole society. The problem posed by artificial intelligence focuses on the fact that law will have to create institutions in order to regulate the “behavior” of these computer systems, which today have wide autonomy. Law, conceived to regulate the behavior of the human being, needs to make substantial changes in its interior. This study aims to analyze this situation in the light of the theories that consider natural law as the foundation of law. For this purpose, in a first phase, artificial intelligence, its definition and characteristics were analyzed, as well as the legal areas where there is concern about the changes originated from the introduction of the AI. Then, general considerations about natural law, its definition, functions and importance are presented. Finally, observations were made about the advisability of considering natural law theories, in the search for solutions to questions presented in the legal field by the evolution of AI in society. This study is documentary-type, based on the consultation and consideration of different specialized texts on the subject. The special technique of direct observation was used to describe and analyze homogeneous characteristics of the phenomena studied, so it is classified as a descriptive study. The study of AI allows us to observe the benefits it has given to society areas such as medicine, entertainment, public administration and even in the practice of law through systems that allow helping lawyers. Some of the problems analyzed are those related to civil liability, personal data protection, algorithm contracts and transhumanism. Some emblematic cases regarding the use of AI are presented, as the case of the citizenship granting to a robot endowed with AI, the consideration of the copyright of a work created through AI in China and the discovery of powerful drugs. It was also possible to determine that the legal problem of AI is in the degree of autonomy that these systems possess. The analysis of natural law allowed us to observe its influence on the creation of the current conception of law and its formative and critical function. The doctrine, in the search for a solution to this problem, has proposed to use a dogmatic consistent with the theories that support contemporary law, without resortingto unsustainable fictions. The proposal of a new legal status for autonomous artificial intelligence systems seems to be a viable solution. Theories of natural law could be useful to guide the formulation of legal precepts applicable to the subject of artificial intelligence; in addition, to provide deep and effective criticisms of the proposed solutions. These new rules must present a solution within the values and principles of the legal system, which respects its unity and maintains the main value of the person.