David Cowan

While military needs have historically driven advances in AI and robotics, the fight against Covid-19 holds out the enticing prospect of an acceleration in their use to improve medicine. Dr David Cowan reports

From judgebots to Intellectual Property to killer robots, China is pushing the legal boundaries of AI and robotics as it fights for market share and power.

A self-taught programmer, claims he wrote the code for a robot lawyer website in just three hours. British student Joshua Browder created a robot lawyer as a means to facilitate the process of disputing speeding tickets, by giving access to free legal advice on the spot.

In a US case, Bauserman v. Unemployment Insurance Agency (MiLW No. 06-99941, 29 pages), Jennifer L. Lord is representing plaintiffs accused of benefits fraud based on the results of a computer program called MIDAS, which identified individuals in the Unemployment Insurance Agency for fraudulent activity.

Activists against the development of robots able to select and attack targets without human input have accused the US and Russia of frustrating international efforts aimed at outlawing the development of these weapons

Business law firm Mason Hayes & Curran (MH&C) has launched a new guide to artificial intelligence. The guide gives an overview of how the AI industry and how EU guidance and regulation is developing.

The latest $2,900 Sony Aibo dog comes equipped with facial recognition cameras and constantly listening microphones, raising concerns about collection of personal data.

Over a third of people “would prefer fast response from chatbot about finances”.

British people are the least supportive nation in their attitude towards driverless cars, or indeed any form of autonomous vehicle (AV), according to a study across six territories (United Kingdom, United States, Australia, China, Singapore and Hong Kong).

Is it significant that America is the first country to have the first human killed by a robot? That incident, fear of job losses, the proliferation of robotic applications is raising a raft of questions on law and policy in the United States.

In a somewhat surprising move, France has banned data analytics related to rulings by Judges, and there are calls for this to be extended to all lawyers.

Estonia is an enigmatic centre for pioneering robotics. As a country, it connects the dots between Scandinavia, Central Europe and what lies to the east. Estonia’s capital Tallinn is the best preserved medieval city in Northern Europe. About 50% of the country is forest. The country may only have a population of 1.3 million, but Estonia’s digital landscape is exciting great interest globally.

In the second part of this article, the author draws conclusions on originality and explores authorship and infringement.

Singapore sees itself as a pioneer and is certainly seeking to prove bigger is not always better. Today Singapore is a densely packed regional financial hub with a population of some 5.7 million.

The future of robot development could begin to move in a new direction after AI experts met with researchers at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) to discuss the industry.

At a recent Bloomberg Crypto Summit held in London, panel speakers agreed the immediate outlook for cryptocurrency is a little shaky, though they are confident the industry is simply experiencing a temporary setback. Meanwhile, there is a global regulatory debate about whether we should be talking about crypto as currency or assets, raising a significant point about the legal quality of these instruments.

In a new feature looking at the robotics landscape of the major jurisdictions in the field, RLJ takes a look at Switzerland. From drones and “killer robots” to ethics and robotic bankers, the Swiss are establishing a significant reputation for tackling the field in all its dimensions.

Graduate students in the United Kingdom are to learn to develop “ethical” artificial intelligence with the help of the Church of England as part of a range of higher degrees in the technology supported by more than £200 million of public and industry funding.

Academics at Utrecht University Centre for Global Challenges ask and share the legal questions.

Statements from the Holy See and United Nations are joined over 30 states raising the need for legal action in the last year.

Germany plans to have a final strategy, and funding plans, by the end of November to present to the public at the Digital Summit 2018 on 3-4 December. The government is currently undergoing a conduct a consultation process with experts, associations, organisations and institutions.