Robot Laws: How to Regulate

Driverless Cars & RoboSurgeons

If a self-driving car causes an accident or a surgical robot kills a patient, whose fault
is it? These are some of the questions a recent report funded by the European Union
sought to answer.
Science fiction writer Isaac Asimov famously wrote about the "three laws of robotics."
Essentially, the laws state that a robot may not injure a human being, that it must
obey orders given by humans and that it must protect its own existence when this
doesn't conflict with the first two laws.
Similarly, the newly released RoboLaw guidelines aim to set down basic principles
for governing robot behaviour in real life. The guidelines also aim to determine
whether existing laws are adequate to regulate new robotic technologies, ranging
from self-driving vehicles to robot caretakers.
Self-driving cars
Self-driving vehicle technology has been steadily advancing, and Google's selfdriving car has already logged thousands of miles on public roads. In May, California
became the first U.S. state to allow testing of driverless cars on public roads, and the
United Kingdom announced plans to allow the vehicles on public roads by 2015.
"Now is the time to address the ethical and legal challenges that technology imposes
on society," the authors of the RoboLaw report wrote.
The report calls for public discussions about the safety issues related to self-driving
cars, as well as research on how to keep the auto insurance market competitive. The
ideal system would allow an accident victim to obtain compensation through
insurance rather than through product liability, the authors wrote.
Surgical robots
As robotic cars begin invading public roads, other machines are finding their way into
hospitals.

Robotic surgery systems are increasingly being used to complement the work of
human physicians. The robots can improve the accuracy of the surgeon, and can
even allow doctors to operate on patients remotely.
Current systems include both tele-operated robots that surgeons control using a
console, and autonomous systems that perform an operation based on previously
programmed instructions.
Such robotic systems present difficult challenges to the legal system, the report
stated.
"When human beings act without using technologies, it is sometimes hard enough to
determine who is responsible for what," according to the report. "The introduction of
[technology] artifacts makes things even more complicated."
The report recommends requiring surgeons to meet professional requirements for
training in robotic surgery, and ensuring that doctors obtain a patient's informed
consent. The report further suggests that surgeons should not be liable for damage
to a patient caused by a robot's faulty actions.
Robotic prosthetics
But the operating room isn't the only place where robots intersect with medicine.
Prosthetics have improved steadily in recent years, with the technology giving
wearers more mobility and greater freedom of movement, according to the RoboLaw
report.
The potential of robotic prosthetics to substantially improve the living conditions of
people with disabilities is "self-evident," the authors wrote. But the advances also
create thorny issues. Even if the technology develops slowly, "the numerous ethical
and legal issues rose by such applications need to be addressed at the earliest
stage possible," the authors said.
The report proposes a legal definition of "robotic prostheses," and says that before
being implanted, the devices should be treated as objects, but after implantation,
they should be considered part of the human body. The report also called for
continued discussion.
"It is advisable that public debate is initiated and further research projects dealing
with the philosophical and legal issues of human enhancement [are] funded," the
authors wrote.

Care robots
But those who are disabled aren't the only ones who stand to benefit from robotic
technology in the future. Robots could help address government concerns about the
aging population, which puts pressure on public budgets amid a decline in the
number of caretakers, the report says.
"Advances in research in personal care robots could help to tackle these
challenges," the authors wrote. For example, robots could help the elderly by
providing food medication, helping them to bathe or and serving as a memory aid,
the authors said.
The report says that the introduction of robot caretakers should not replace
traditional forms of care, and the patient's autonomy should be respected. If possible,
the robot should also be designed so that users can adjust the level of control they
have over the machine.