When autonomous robots become more common and begin making their way out into the world, some will malfunction, and accidents will happen. Some of these accidents will cause property destruction and perhaps even lead to human injury or death. Civilians will probably be killed as robots are increasingly used on the battlefield. Not to mention, unscrupulous individuals may deliberately program robots to misbehave or even commit crimes on their behalf. (The old “mad scientist and his army of evil robots” scheme…)
A panel on robots, law and society at Stanford Law School was assembled to address some of these potential scenarios to determine where robot manufacturers and operators might be insulated from being held liable for accidents caused by their products. Diving deeper, the panel even discussed the possibility that humans may one day sue for the right to marry their robots. This concept isn’t so outrageous, especially considering that some humans already develop romantic feelings for life-like dolls and characters in “dating simulation” video games, and may develop a friendly affection for robots designed for utility, like military bomb-sniffing robots and Roomba vacuum cleaners.
Until robots are endowed with true artificial intelligence, they will be mindless automatons, and will thus be tools of their human operators. If an operator or manufacturer purposefully programs a robot in such a way that they know it could lead to property damage or human injury, then these parties should obviously held liable, as they would if they drove a car in a reckless manner or knowingly released a faulty product on the market.
Looking ahead, however, one might imagine a future in which humans do co-exist with robots that possess true AI, and are, in turn, expected to abide by the laws of society. Much like humans, these machines would be held liable for their own actions, and face punishment when they violate these laws (a concept that has been explored thoroughly in science fiction, including the film I, Robot and the animated Matrix prequels).
In this case, perhaps the most effective defense will necessitate… a robot lawyer.