The civil liability of robots

January 19 , 2024 // Specialty

The concept of a robot is not something new, since the birth of robotics there have been many different meanings that have been given to the word depending on the technological development of the stage in question.

The most essential characteristic of the robot is that of possessing artificial intelligence (AI), through the implementation of hardware and software techniques the robot acquires an enriched structure and behavior that the more complex they make the machine, the more complex it becomes. and the further it is from the concept of the object, that is, the more unpredictable it becomes.

1.- The concept of a robot. We have heard about virtual robots, nanobots, softbots, androids, humanoids, cyborgs, drones, etc. Currently, it is a portmanteau word in which different technological and computer science findings that arise with the development of artificial intelligence have been pigeonholed.

Now, there is a point of a before and after in the development of robotic systems based on artificial intelligence, the development of the Internet and the universalization of personal computers together with the rise of computing as a predominant science for use by both from individuals, as well as from the public administration, will have a decisive impact on the development of artificial intelligence.

The concept of artificial intelligence does not exactly coincide with the definition of robotics, although it is true that both disciplines are increasingly converging. Normally, artificial intelligence refers to software, that is, the computer program that executes certain tasks, and robotics generally refers to hardware, in other words, the bodily object that acts following the instructions of its intelligent software.

2.- Spanish regulation. Specific legislation on robotics and artificial intelligence is currently non-existent at the national level, despite the fact that in July 2020 the creation of an Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council was announced to guarantee the ethical and safe use of intelligence. artificial intelligence, composed of experts of international prestige whose objective is to contribute to finalizing the implementation of the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (ENIA), aimed at aligning all those policies aimed at promoting the development and implementation of artificial intelligence systems in Spain, increasing investments and strengthening collaboration between the private sector and the public sector.

3.- Community regulation. Given how scarce the regulations on artificial intelligence are, it can be noted that the most important projects and resolutions are found at the community level. In 2013, the question of the rights of robots and the need to respond to certain questions was raised in the European Parliament in response to the debate on the need to create a hypothetical legal personality for robots.

Parliament explained that technological advances to date showed that the robots developed to date did not yet have a degree of autonomy such that it was mandatory to grant them the category of subjects of law by granting them legal personality; but the EU has its sights set on ethical, legal and social relevance in the not-so-distant future. The European Parliament resolution of February 16, 2017, with recommendations to the Commission on Civil Law rules on robotics, is of utmost importance.