The recent AI robot mishap at a Chinese festival has sparked safety debates all over the world. If that video is seen closely, it would seem that the concerned robot had merely slipped or suffered an expected glitch. Many people are concerned that robots cannot be relied upon, and rightly so. The more advanced AI becomes, the more safety mechanisms it will require to protect its human masters. It is a complex problem, and I hope with time, we are able to resolve such issues in a meaningful manner.
Ultimately, we want robots to be our slaves and nothing more than that. We want them to be smart and efficient servants. Also, these robots are being produced by large corporations. The real owners of these robots are the corporations, and they must be strictly held liable for any mishap arising out of any malfunctioning of robots in an expected manner. The principle of vicarious liability must be made applicable to these large corporations.
This does not mean that the corporations are to be overburdened with regulations. It simply means that transparent and fair liability mechanisms are established so that anyone affected by such incidents is able to redress their grievances and disputes in an expeditious manner. I am not demonizing corporations. They are the greatest displays of human cooperation and collaboration. But AI and robots are artificial persons representing the entity that owns them, and thus, liability must be fixed at all costs.
For every different field, we have different types of courts: commercial courts, criminal courts, civil courts, intellectual property courts, etc. We need to have similar specialized courts for AI as well. The problem is that judges are currently very ill-equipped to understand these issues because of their technological handicap. What is the solution? Research more into the legal issues arising out of AI and make simple laws. Fixing strict vicarious liability in some manner could be a solution. We want human health to take precedence over corporate health.
Our coders, AI, and robotic scientists are the ones who are best capable of tackling this issue. Let’s hope so.