4 ms·
Roman law offers a better guide to robot rights than sci-fi
- raleighm 10y agoHere's the Google link, given the paywall: https://goo.gl/cvjvL1 https://goo.gl/cvjvL1.
- wahern 10y agoChildishly provocative article. In terms of the law of torts, the obvious analog would be treating robots like beasts of burden. Beasts of burden are like property that also require taking into account some minimal agency. That law also derives from Roman law. Laws for slavery are inappropriate as in most of the world, including in the ancient world, slaves were no less human than anybody and accorded some minimal human rights (not that the term "human rights" existed back then). Bring up slavery is just a way to pique fears about artificial intelligence, or to seem risque by tapping into contemporary unease when reflecting upon the modern European (and especially American) history of slavery. Apropos of taxation, the most likely route would be taxing robots like other forms of personal property that create significant, continuous externalities, such as cars. Some American states tax cars like they tax land--yearly and based on valuation--exclusive of any sales or registration taxes.