introduction to the law of robots and ais - lecture 4

Introduction to the Law of Robots and Artificial IntelligencesIntroduction to the Law of Robots and Artificial IntelligencesIntroduction to the Law of Robots and Artificial IntelligencesIntroduction to the Law of Robots and Artificial Intelligences

Prof. Nicolas Petit ©Prof. Nicolas Petit ©Prof. Nicolas Petit ©Prof. Nicolas Petit ©

University of Liege, 2015University of Liege, 2015University of Liege, 2015University of Liege, 2015----2016201620162016

Lecture IV: Whither Regulation for Machine

Intelligence? A Proposed Framework

www.lcii.euwww.lcii.euwww.lcii.euwww.lcii.eu

Goals of the lecture

� Where do we need regulation?

� Put differently where do we need to (i) adapt existing

law; (ii) introduce new law?


Context (1)

� Appeals to outlaw certain technologies

� Human rights watch, The case against killer robots, November

2012

� Autonomous Weapons: An Open Letter from AI & Robotics

Researchers, 28 July 2015, HTTP://FUTUREOFLIFE.ORG/OPEN-

LETTER-AUTONOMOUS-WEAPONS/: “Starting a military AI arms race is a bad idea, and should be prevented by a ban on offensive autonomous weapons beyond meaningful human control”.

� Signatories include Noam Chomsky and Elon Musk


Context (2)

“Noel Sharkey, a computer scientist at the University of Sheffield, observes that overly rigid regulations might

stifle innovation. But a lack of legal clarity leaves device-makers, doctors, patients and insurers in the

dark”

The Economist, 01 September 2012


Context (3)

� “partial paradigmatic shift in thinking about law” (De

Cock Buning, Belder and de Bruin, 2012)


Lawyers’ approach

«««« GutGutGutGut » » » » pespectivepespectivepespectivepespective

� Legal profession is one

of specialists

� Disciplinary method

� Shortcomings?

HolisticHolisticHolisticHolistic perspective?perspective?perspective?perspective?

� Suggestion for a Green

Paper, 2012

� Robolaw, 2012


Definitions

� RoboethicsRoboethicsRoboethicsRoboethics and and and and robolawrobolawrobolawrobolaw

� RegulationRegulationRegulationRegulation

� “State intervention into the economy by making and applying legal rules”? (Morgan and Yeung)

� More narrow

Leave the basic legal infrastructure intact, and deal with

issues on a case-by-case basis, through litigation and

precedent (common law approach)

v

Adopt sui generis rules and updates

I. Regulatory trade-offs


Disabling regulation (Pelkmans and Renda)

REACHREACHREACHREACH

� Problem with the “imposition of fairly heavy testing requirements for all existing and new substances alike”

� “The other feature of REACH, owing to its ambitious precautionary approach of ‘no data, no market’ (access), is that this entire process of testing before being allowed on the market takes no less than 11 years”

GMO GMO GMO GMO regulationregulationregulationregulation

� In the EU, only two new GMO

products have been allowed to

be cultivated: NK603 GM

maize and the Amflora potato

� This despite reported benefits

to farmers and decrease in

poverty


� Civil purpose nuclear

energy regulation

� Reproductive cloning?

« Knee-jerk » regulation?

� “tendency to overreactto risks, accidents and incidents” (Van Tol,

2011)


� Taxi v Uber

� Airbn’B v hotel chains

� E-cigarette

Rent seeking

� Bastiat: candle manufacturers

request chamber of deputies

to: “pass a law requiring the closing of all windows, dormers, skylights, inside and outside shutters, curtains, casements, bull's-eyes, deadlights, and blinds—in short, all openings, holes, chinks, and fissures through which the light of the sun is wont to enter houses, to the detriment of the fair industries with which, we are proud to say, we have endowed the country [...]”.


Regulatory timing

� “They're talking about spending 5-10 years to regulate technologies that are already 5-10 years old“ (Garreau)

� Amazon, Intel and Google have been very vocal in relation

to drones delivery regulation, which is outdated

� Proposed Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”)

regulation insists that unmanned aircraft system (“UAS”)

must be limited “to daylight-only operations, confined areas of operation, and visual-line-of-sight operations”

� “Regulatory connection” quandary: the risks and

opportunities created by emerging technologies cannot be

“suitably understood until the technology further develops” … what if it is harmful?


Enabling regulation (Pelkmans and Renda)

EndEndEndEnd----ofofofof----life vehicleslife vehicleslife vehicleslife vehicles

� “beyond what a market-based approach might be expected to achieve”

� quantitative targets: “reuse and recycling of 80 % of the car weight in 2006, up to 85 % by 2015; reuse and recovery at least 85 % in 2006 and 95 % in 2015”

� “Innovation takes place at the very beginning of the life cycle of cars, namely at the design & planning stage”

Porter HypothesisPorter HypothesisPorter HypothesisPorter Hypothesis

� In environment, safety and

health, “tough standards trigger innovation and upgrading”

� And market opportunities to

race for first mover advantage

� Counter-example: 2015

Volkwagen NOx (nitrogen

oxides) emission scandal


Regulatory trade offs

� Complex relation between technological innovation

and government regulation

� “The economic literature (starting from the seminal work of Ashford and later with the so-called “Porter hypothesis”) has long recognised that regulation can be a powerful stimulus to innovation and entrepreneurship”(Pelkmans and Renda, 2014)

� At the same time, regulation “can and does disable innovation” (Pelkmans and Renda, 2014)

II. Transversal Approaches


1. Disciplinary approach

� Suggestions for a green paper, 2012: “top down approach that studies for each legal domain the consequences on robotics”

� “fitting” exercize: jacket factory allegory

� 8 areas of the law:

� health and safety of machinery;

� product liability rules and sale of consumer goods;

� intellectual property;

� labour law;

� data privacy;

� criminal law;

� contractual and non contractual liability;

� e-personhood.


Intellectual property

� Are machine intelligence generated works protectable Are machine intelligence generated works protectable Are machine intelligence generated works protectable Are machine intelligence generated works protectable under intellectual under intellectual under intellectual under intellectual

property regimes, and as the case may be, who is their property regimes, and as the case may be, who is their property regimes, and as the case may be, who is their property regimes, and as the case may be, who is their owner?owner?owner?owner?

� Patent law, needs “Patent law, needs “Patent law, needs “Patent law, needs “inventive stepinventive stepinventive stepinventive step””””

� Non obviousness requirement to the skilled person?

� Is there anything non obvious to a super intelligence?

� Copyright lawCopyright lawCopyright lawCopyright law

� Creative work

� Means work of the author

� Subjective, not objective

� Two similar songs can be ©

� Can a machine that computes data be capable of creation?

� Who is the owner?Who is the owner?Who is the owner?Who is the owner?

� Not hypothetical given that some IPRs held by abstract legal persons like

corporations?


Pros and cons

� ReactiveReactiveReactiveReactive

� One size One size One size One size fitsfitsfitsfits all: all: all: all:

� Adjust liability law accross the board: user, owner, agent

� UnlikelyUnlikelyUnlikelyUnlikely to to to to identifyidentifyidentifyidentify whollywhollywhollywholly new issues?new issues?new issues?new issues?


2. Functional approach

� Determine classes of MI applications, and then assess the legal needs from there.

� Bottom up approach geared to technological evolution

� Savile row tailors allegory

� Robolaw 2012, 4 classes of technological applications

� Self-driving cars;

� Computer integrated surgical systems;

� Robotic prostheses;

� Care robots.

� BothBothBothBoth ethicalethicalethicalethical and and and and legallegallegallegal perspectivesperspectivesperspectivesperspectives

� Self driving cars� Safety and transport sustainability

� Trolley problem


Robolaw, 2012

� Distinct Distinct Distinct Distinct legallegallegallegal issues for issues for issues for issues for variousvariousvariousvarious class of applicationsclass of applicationsclass of applicationsclass of applications

� Self driving cars: primary question relates to impact of liability rules on manufacturers’ incentives for innovation

� For prostheses, the focus is also placed on public law issues, for instance whether a person can identify itself with the prostheses it wears, and whether it can resist depiction in an official document with it, or not

� For medical devices and personal care robots, the discussion also concerns privacy matters

� And for personal care robots, some basic human rights considerations come also into play, such as the need to protect the right to independent living protected by Article 19 of the UN Convention on the rights of persons with Disabilities


Pros and cons

� Not ““““one size fits all””””

� In relation to prostheses, report advocates that to

“incentivise researchers and producers of these technologies, an exemption from the application of existing liability rules”, but it is meanwhile skeptical that

in relation to Personal care robots, “the need to promote care robots should lead to the limited immunity of manufacturers”.

� Obsessive focus on not hindering technological evolution

� Risks of rent seeking exposure, to technology developers

� But regulatory connection

III. Alternative Consequentialist Framework


Public interest theories

� ““““Aim Aim Aim Aim of promoting the general welfare of the of promoting the general welfare of the of promoting the general welfare of the of promoting the general welfare of the communitycommunitycommunitycommunity ””””

� WelfareWelfareWelfareWelfare economicseconomicseconomicseconomics

� Response to imperfections in the market known as ‘market failures’, iemonopoly (and other anti-competitive behaviour), externalities, public goods and information asymmetries

� Externalities: “a producer’s activity imposes costs on third parties that are not reflected (or ‘internalised’) in the prices which he charges for his products”

� Substantive Substantive Substantive Substantive political political political political versionsversionsversionsversions

� Social justice

� Public interested redistribution: minimum wage regulation

� Paternalism

� Social subordination: anti discrimination law

� Irreversibility, future generations, animals and nature: protection of endangered species


Private interest theories

� “Assumption that regulation emerges from the actions of individuals or groups motivated to maximize their self-interest””””

� Political private interest: « regulation emerging from the

cumulative results of various interest groups pressing their views

to regulatory agencies and legislators ».

� Economic private interest

� « interest groups most affected by regulatory purchase regulatory

goods from the State under a standard supply and demand model »

� « The resources necessary to meet suppliers’ political needs constitute the ‘‘price’’ of regulatory goods ».

� Regulatory failure and capture


Proposed framework

Public interest, beyond market failures

Utilitarian

Externality

Negative Discrete Systemic

Positive Discrete Systemic

Existential

Existernality

Negative Terminator

Positive La formule de dieu


Framework

� DiscreteDiscreteDiscreteDiscrete externalitiesexternalitiesexternalitiesexternalities (micro; (micro; (micro; (micro; personalpersonalpersonalpersonal))))

� Negative: harm

� Positive: benefits

� SystemicSystemicSystemicSystemic externalitiesexternalitiesexternalitiesexternalities (macro; (macro; (macro; (macro; societalsocietalsocietalsocietal))))

� Negative

� Substitution effect

� Privacy

� Positive

� Complementarity effect

� Generative or General Purpose technologies (Zitrain, Bresnahan)

� «««« ExisternalityExisternalityExisternalityExisternality »»»»

� Negative: existential risk

� Positive: pure human enhancement


Illustration of the framework (Drones)

� DiscreteDiscreteDiscreteDiscrete externalityexternalityexternalityexternality

� A drone crashes on the ceiling of a house, while delivering

� Transports an explosive product

� Burns the house

� SystemicSystemicSystemicSystemic externalityexternalityexternalityexternality

� A drone operated delivery system puts employment in the mail industry at

risk

� ExistentialistExistentialistExistentialistExistentialist threatthreatthreatthreat

� Drone designed for war


Discrete externalities

LitigationLitigationLitigationLitigation

� Basic Basic Basic Basic legallegallegallegal infrastructure and infrastructure and infrastructure and infrastructure and

casecasecasecase----bybybyby----case case case case resolutionresolutionresolutionresolution

� DecisionalDecisionalDecisionalDecisional experimentationexperimentationexperimentationexperimentation, , , ,

withwithwithwith fittingfittingfittingfitting exercizeexercizeexercizeexercize

RegulationRegulationRegulationRegulation

� Regulatory experimentationRegulatory experimentationRegulatory experimentationRegulatory experimentation

� “Tokku” Special Zone for Robotics Empirical Testing and Development (RT special zone) from open environments => Test human-robot interface in limited areas => companies entitled to less strict legal standard http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2014/03/economic-zones-japan

� Regulatory emulation as States liberalize driverless cars


Systemic externalities

� If If If If discretediscretediscretediscrete externalitiesexternalitiesexternalitiesexternalities becomebecomebecomebecome widespreadwidespreadwidespreadwidespread or or or or harmfulharmfulharmfulharmful

� Scope for new Scope for new Scope for new Scope for new regulationregulationregulationregulation????

� Negative externalities• Tax on robotic-intensive industries

• Private entitlement of rights: laws on privacy

• Safety standards to solve collective action problem

• Mandatory insurance or electronic personhood for robots (Leroux et al.)

� Positive externalities• Subsidies for public goods issues: building of controlled environment

infrastructures for driverless cars

• Proactive IPR policy for innovation into robotics technologies

• Immunity from liability for research on certain systemicapplications? GARA precedent


Existernalities

� Calls for Calls for Calls for Calls for legallegallegallegal bans on bans on bans on bans on specificspecificspecificspecific applicationsapplicationsapplicationsapplications

� UN Campaign to stop killer robots:

https://www.stopkillerrobots.org/category/un/

� TechnicalTechnicalTechnicalTechnical resolutionresolutionresolutionresolution of issuesof issuesof issuesof issues

� Philosophers: « Creating friendly AIs 1.0 » (Yudkowsky,

2001)

� Technologists: Keeping open and competitive technology,

https://openai.com/blog/introducing-openai/

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University of Liege (ULg)

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