Chapter 2: Regulating AI and Robotics: Ethical and Legal Challenges

Abstract

Rapid progress in AI and robotics is challenging the traditional boundaries of law. Algorithms are widely employed to make decisions that have an increasingly far-reaching impact on individuals and society, potentially leading to manipulation, biases, censorship, social discrimination, violations of privacy and property rights, and more. This has sparked a global debate on how to regulate AI and robotics.

The purpose of this introductory chapter is twofold. First, it outlines some of the most urgent ethical and legal issues raised by the use of self-learning algorithms in Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems and (smart) robotics. Secondly, it provides an overview of several key initiatives at the international and European levels on forthcoming AI ethics and regulation. The overall aim of this chapter is not to find definitive answers. On the contrary, the policy debate would be better served by refraining from rash solutions. What is needed instead is a more precise inventory of the concrete ethical and legal challenges to strengthen the foundations for evidence-based governance in the future.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, AI, Robotics, Algorithms, Governance, Regulation, Law, Ethics

JEL Classification: K10, K20