10 - I, Robot? Legal Personality for Robots and the Android Fallacy

Summary

Could robots be recognized as legal persons? Should they? Much of the discussion of these topics is distorted by fictional representations of what form true artificial intelligence (AI) might take – in particular that it would be of human-level intellect and be embodied in humanoid form. Such robots are the focus of this volume, with the possibility that external appearance and its echoes in science fiction may shape debate over their “rights.” Most legal systems would be able to grant some form of personality, yet early considerations of whether they should conflate two discrete rationales. The first is instrumental, analogous to the economic reasons why corporations are granted personality. The second is inherent, linked to the manner in which human personality is recognized. Neither is sufficient to justify legal personality for robots today. A third reason, which may become more pressing in the medium term, is tied to the possibility of AI systems that far surpass humans in terms of ability. In the event that such entities are created, the question may shift from whether we recognize them under the law, to whether they recognize us.