Can the Robot be Considered a Person? The European Perspective
Philippe Fauquet-Alekhine *
SEBE-Lab, Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton St., WC2A 2AE, London, UK, Groupe INTRA Robotics, BP61, 37420, Avoine, France and Laboratory for Research in Science of Energy, France.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Technological advances are equipping robotic entities with artificial intelligence and endowed with emotional intelligence that gives them a capacity for reflection, analysis, that is closer every day to that of humans. The growing autonomy of robotic entities raises the question of legal responsibility for acts carried out by such entities at the same time as it raises the question of the status of such entities: should they be considered as persons or as things? The European Parliament adopted a resolution in 2017 that assumes that such entities could be granted the status of "electronic person". The question is how this can fit into the legal framework of the Member States of the European Community. This article proposes a first reflection on the thing-person transition of an autonomous robotic entity. The findings show that this transition is not immediate and requires both technological advances and an adjustment of the law.
Keywords: Android, artificial intelligence, boidroid, personality, personhood, robot
How to Cite
References
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