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A Legal Theory for Autonomous Artificial Agents
Contributor(s): Chopra, Samir (Author), White, Laurence F. (Author)
ISBN: 0472051458     ISBN-13: 9780472051458
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
OUR PRICE:   $36.58  
Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats
Published: July 2011
Qty:
Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Law | Computer & Internet
- Law | Science & Technology
- Law | Jurisprudence
Dewey: 343.099
LCCN: 2011000471
Physical Information: 0.79" H x 6.59" W x 8.96" (0.89 lbs) 264 pages
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
"An extraordinarily good synthesis from an amazing range of philosophical, legal, and technological sources . . . the book will appeal to legal academics and students, lawyers involved in e-commerce and cyberspace legal issues, technologists, moral philosophers, and intelligent lay readers interested in high tech issues, privacy, and] robotics."
--Kevin Ashley, University of Pittsburgh School of Law

As corporations and government agencies replace human employees with online customer service and automated phone systems, we become accustomed to doing business with nonhuman agents. If artificial intelligence (AI) technology advances as today's leading researchers predict, these agents may soon function with such limited human input that they appear to act independently. When they achieve that level of autonomy, what legal status should they have?

Samir Chopra and Laurence F. White present a carefully reasoned discussion of how existing philosophy and legal theory can accommodate increasingly sophisticated AI technology. Arguing for the legal personhood of an artificial agent, the authors discuss what it means to say it has "knowledge" and the ability to make a decision. They consider key questions such as who must take responsibility for an agent's actions, whom the agent serves, and whether it could face a conflict of interest.