publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/1188906
I L T A W H I T E P A P E R | I N F O R M A T I O N G O V E R N E N C E 29 I t seems comical, much like a scene out of the movie My Cousin Vinny, but instead of a quirky cast of characters taking the stand to recount a series of events (not to mention what constitutes a grit), it's a robot sitting in the witness box answering questions before a jury. And while this may seem farfetched, the reality of the matter is, artificial intelligence now touches almost every aspect of modern life. And, human-robot interaction will soon be commonplace, begging the question of what legal status do robots and artificial intelligence have in society and is existing legislation or law applicable? In a 2018 issue of Science magazine, a group of researchers and neuroscientists wrote a letter to the editor challenging a previously published article discussing whether we are on the verge of creating conscious machines. The letter's authors contended that the article was not tackling the topic with an appropriate framework, explaining that we should not be asking whether machines could have consciousness but instead whether machines have subjective experiences. The discussion leads to an interesting debate and response from the magazine's editor in which it becomes plaintively clear, that for now, we will have to agree to disagree because we simply do not yet know whether artificial intelligence (AI) is mimicking human brain activity or if these innovations are conscious of their surroundings, emotions, actions, and the actions of others. Dr. Peter Stone, founder and director of the Learning Agents Research Group (LARG) within the Artificial B Y D A N A H A C K L E Y The State vs. AI