Abstract
Abstract In robot torts, robots carry out activities that are partially controlled by a human operator. Several legal and economic scholars across the world have argued for the need to rethink legal remedies as we apply them to robot torts. Yet, to date, there exists no general formulation of liability in case of robot accidents, and the proposed solutions differ across jurisdictions. We proceed in our research with a set of two companion papers. In this paper, we present the novel problems posed by robot accidents, and assess the legal challenges and institutional prospects that policymakers face in the regulation of robot torts. In the companion paper, we build on the present analysis and use an economic model to propose a new liability regime which blends negligence-based rules and strict manufacturer liability rules to create optimal incentives for robot torts.
Highlights
The economic analysis of tort law assumes the existence of at least two human actors: an injurer and a victim (e.g. Miceli, 2017; Shavell, 1980, 1987)
Since robots are insensitive to threats of legal liability, the question arises: how are we to regulate this new class of potential tortfeasors? The need for a theory to better understand robot torts is urgent, given that robots are already capable of driving automobiles and trains, delivering packages, piloting aircraft, trading stocks, and performing surgery with minimal human input or supervision
Several legal and economic scholars across the world have argued for the need to rethink legal remedies as we apply them to robot torts (e.g. De Chiara et al, 2021; Lemley and Casey, 2019; Matsuzaki and Lindemann, 2016; Shavell, 2020; Talley, 2019)
Summary
The economic analysis of tort law assumes the existence of at least two human actors: an injurer and a victim (e.g. Miceli, 2017; Shavell, 1980, 1987). The economic analysis of tort law assumes the existence of at least two human actors: an injurer and a victim Miceli, 2017; Shavell, 1980, 1987) This assumption becomes increasingly tenuous with the advancement of automated technologies There, a formal economic model is used to study the incentives created by our proposed rules
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