Read more
AI and people do not compete on a level-playing field. Self-driving vehicles may be safer than human drivers, but laws often penalize such technology. People may provide superior customer service, but businesses are automating to reduce their taxes. AI may innovate more effectively, but an antiquated legal framework constrains inventive AI. In The Reasonable Robot, Ryan Abbott argues that the law should not discriminate between AI and human behavior and proposes a new legal principle that will ultimately improve human well-being. This work should be read by anyone interested in the rapidly evolving relationship between AI and the law.
List of contents
Introduction. Artificial intelligence and the law; 1. Understanding artificial intelligence; 2. Should artificial intelligence pay taxes?; 3. The reasonable robot; 4. The artificial inventor; 5. Changing intellectual property standards; 6. Punishing artificial intelligence; 7. Alternative perspectives on artificial intelligence and AI legal neutrality; Third party materials; Index.
About the author
Ryan Abbott, M.D., J.D., M.T.O.M., Ph.D., is Professor of Law and Health Sciences at the School of Law, University of Surrey, and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. A physician and patent attorney, Abbott's research on law and technology has helped shape the international dialogue on these topics. He has served as an expert for the World Health Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the European Commission, and the UK Parliament. Abbott also spearheaded the first patent applications to disclose inventions made autonomously by an AI. In 2019, he was named one of the top 50 in Intellectual Property by Managing IP magazine.
Summary
Addressing the legal implications of the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in society, Abbott argues that the law should not discriminate between people and AI when they perform the same tasks. This nuanced examination of technology is for anyone interested in the legal, social, and ethical issues associated with AI.
Additional text
'Professor Abbott's book offers a captivating analysis of the legal challenges that arise from the breathtaking proliferation of artificial intelligence in numerous areas of life, commercial relations and governmental decision-making. As 'AI' not only informs but increasingly drives and determines administrative procedures as well as policy choices, questions of liability require utmost scrutiny and must be seen in close connection with issues around agency, representation and legitimacy. In trying to understand the legal conundrum posed by robots' astonishing ascendance, this book is an excellent guide.' Peer Zumbansen, Founding Director, Transnational Law Institute, King's College London
Report
'The Reasonable Robot provides highly original insights into one of the most important conversations of our time. Ryan Abbott brings a unique and sometimes controversial perspective to artificial intelligence as a physician, attorney, and eminent academic, but manages to present the subject in an accessible and unintimidating manner. This book is both enlightening about the future of law and artificial intelligence as well as a great read' Baron Timothy Clement-Jones, Chair of the House of Lords Artificial Intelligence Select Committee and Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence
