1.
Introduction ^
In accordance with these realizations, the Robot Revolution Realization Council proposed the «Implementation of Robot Regulatory Reform» as a guideline. This document outlines two strategies for regulatory reform. The first eases current regulations by creating new legal frameworks or utilizing the environment. The other strategy is to establish a new legal framework from the consumer protection perspective. In addition, field testing for robots is an essential part of deregulation, because it can help regulators and manufacturers to discover many unexpected risks during the final stage prior to a machine’s real world deployment.1
In the United States, the Obama White House published a report on «Artificial Intelligence, Automation, and the Economy» in December 2016 which suggests three main strategies for improving the US economy with regard to the impact of AI-driven automation.2 Across the Atlantic, European Parliament Rapporteur Mady Delvaux published a draft report with recommendations for the Commission on Civil Law Rules on Robotics in May 2016 which urges European Commission to create a robust EU-wide framework on standard levels of safety and security for emerging AI and robotics technologies, including a voluntary Code of Ethical Conduct, a new EU agency for AI and robotics, and a specific legal status for electronic persons, amongst other things. Delvaux’s report was approved by the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee in January 2017 and is expected to be voted on at the full meeting of the European Parliament in February 2017.3, 4
2.
Regulation of Unknowns: A Tendency Towards Over-regulation ^
According to the Japan Times, on a Sunday morning in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, a drunken man entered a local SoftBank store and kicked a Pepper robot stationed there. The man was soon arrested by the police. He has admitted to damaging the robot, claiming that he did not like the attitude of a store clerk. Though the clerk was not injured, the damaged robot now moves slower than its original interaction speed.5
A lesson can be learned from 19th century, the end of the era of horse-drawn transportation. The origin of human and horse co-existence can be traced to horses ridden by nomadic herders in Central Asia 5'000 years ago. With the accompanying inventions of bits, collar harnesses and coaches, horse-drawn transportation gradually became a dominant method of land transportation.6 Eric Morris also pointed out that horses were absolutely essential for the functioning of 19th century cities in Western countries, mainly for personal transportation, freight haulage, and mechanical power.7 Around this time, however, the rise of steam engine technology brought new possibilities for personal transportation. Richard Trevithick invented the world’s first self-propelling passenger-carrying vehicle, called the «London Steam Carriage», in 1803, and later the «Stockton and Darlington Railway», the world’s first public railway to use steam locomotives, which opened in 1825. Unlike steam locomotives, which have their own independent railway networks, steam powered automobiles had to be operated and tested in human living areas, in particular on public roads. It raised many new social concerns, such as how to limit the speed of self-propelled vehicles, and how to ensure pedestrians» safety. For example, if a horse carriage meets a steam car face to face, what should happen next? And how could one prevent a horse from being startled by a steam car’s emitted vapor?
Unfortunately, the effects of this regulation were disappointing. Aside from holding a red flag, other strict laws including a speed limit of 2–4 mph (3–6 kph) and additional toll fees for steam-powered vehicles using non-cylindrical wheels were implemented, though some were eventually overruled. Though regulation can effectively reduce risks from emerging new technologies, it can also prevent further innovation as well as retard industrial growth. Researchers believe the adoption of the Red Flag Laws can explain why UK’s automobile industry fell behind that of Germany and France. Surprisingly, however, the world’s first steam powered passenger-carrying vehicle did come from the UK.8
Following the analysis above, it is apparent that we should consider addressing the impact of new regulations on service robots. Under the current legal system, service robots are merely property or a «second existence». This is not enough to address safety and moral risks in regards to human-robot co-existence. In other words, a new perspective for regulation should be established under the premise that service robots ought to be recognized as a «the third existence» legal entity, where robots are still an object under the law, but should have a special legal status different from that of normal machines.9 The difficulty of implementing new regulation for service robots, however, is similar to the case of regulating steam powered cars in the 19th century. It’s a «Regulation of the Unknown». On the one hand, such machines could have lethal consequences for human beings without proper regulation. On the other hand, it can be difficult for regulators to keep up with the progress of advanced technologies. If there is a tendency towards over-regulation, similar to the case of the steam powered cars, there will be problems.
3.
Towards the Integrated Governance of Intelligent Robots ^
Rolf Pfeifer has argued for the indispensable nature of a physical entity to intelligence in his thoughts on «embodiment».10 At this point, robotics takes the form of an augmented reality medium for AI agents to be able to physically interact with human beings. If we say that Cyber Law is a set of rules for regulating human beings» interactions with the virtual world, then we might refer to Robot Law as a set of specific norms which aims to mitigating risks inherent in AI agents» behaviors and their consequences in the real world. Hence, we will need to develop a regulatory framework not only for AI, but including its accompanied field of advanced robotics, or «AR».
3.1.
«Tokku» RT Special Zone: A Tool for Deregulation ^
Looking at integrated governance of AI ethics, we can first consider «Deregulation» in the context of the «Tokku» RT (Robotics Technology) special zone. A special area such as this can help regulators and manufacturers discover unexpected risks during the final stage prior to a machine’s real world deployment. Originating in Japan, the RT special zone has only been around since the beginning of 21st century but in that time there have already been many other special zones established in places like Fukuoka, Osaka, Gifu, Kanagawa and Tsukuba. As the development of robotics advances and its prevalence in society grows, the importance of special zones of interface for robots and society will be more apparent.11
3.2.
Certification ^
Physical safety in human-robot interaction is not merely the fundamental issue of concern in robot ethics, but also an important factor in product liability. Therefore, in many countries robot manufacturers will have to send their products for safety certification in order to match expectations from the market and also to help clarify potential liabilities to relevant stakeholders. In 2009, Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) launched a project concerned with the practical applications of service robots which aims to develop a governance system for physical human-robot interaction (pHRI). The project created a robot safety testing center inside Tsukuba RT special zone to provide safety certification for personal care robots, which is defined under ISO 13482.12
Christopher Harper and Gurvinder Virk argued that when dependability is a legal requirement, robots will require certification before they can put into service. Standards are crucial in the process of certification because they capture the consensus of the best practice of safe system behavior and design methodology. As we enter the era of intelligent robots, we might need to consider safety hazards alongside new ethical hazards in order to ensure the physical safety factors inherent in the use of intelligent robots. If so, then the current legal requirement of dependability might not be enough to fulfill a certification.13
3.3.
Professional Ethics ^
Artificial intelligence and robotics are highly specialized scientific disciplines, and as such it is not likely that regulators will have equivalent domain knowledge to professional AI programmers or robotics engineers. Hence, a crucial governance tool for AI safety is the promotion of professional ethics inside the global AI and robotics communities. In 2006, the European Robotics Research Network (EURON) had published its «Roboethics Roadmap», a collection of articles outlining potential research pathways, and speculating on how each one might develop. Around a decade later, IEEE Standards Association’s global initiative for ethical considerations in artificial intelligence and autonomous systems published their guideline, called «Ethically Aligned Design» in December 2016. The main purpose of IEEE global initiative is to develop a new framework of ethical governance for artificial intelligence system design complete with future norms and standards. Compared to EURON Roboethics Roadmap, one major difference is that IEEE Ethically Aligned Design not only encourages professional ethics in AI, but also consider embedding norms and values in artificial intelligence systems which jumps into the realm of machine ethics.14
3.4.
Designing Robot Sociability ^
Neurologists view the human brain as having three layers – primitive, paleopallium, and neopallium – that operate like «three interconnected biological computers, [each] with its own special intelligence, its own subjectivity, its own sense of time and space, and its own memory».15
From an AI viewpoint, the biomorphic equivalents of the three layers are action intelligence, autonomous intelligence, and Human-Based Intelligence. Action intelligence functions are analogous to nervous system responses that coordinate sensory and behavioral information, thereby giving a robot the ability to control head and eye movement, move spatially, operate machine arms to manipulate objects, and visually inspect its immediate environment. Autonomous intelligence refers to capabilities for solving problems involving pattern recognition, automated scheduling, and planning based on prior experience. Such behaviors are logical and programmable, but not conscious. They have remarkable abilities to perform specific tasks according to their built-in autonomous intelligence. However, they cannot make decisions concerning self-beneficial actions or decide what is right or wrong based on a sense of their own value. At the third level is Human-Based Intelligence – higher cognitive abilities that allow for new ways of looking at one’s environment and for abstract thought, also referred to as «mind» and «real intelligence». Since a universally accepted definition of human intelligence has yet to emerge, there is little agreement on a definition for Human-Based Intelligence. The upper level intelligence is Superintelligence. Nick Bostrom defines superintelligence as «an intellect that is much smarter than the best human brains in practically every field, including scientific creativity, general wisdom and social skills».16
4.
Conclusion ^
Yueh-Hsuan Weng, Assistant Professor, Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies (FRIS), Tohoku University (starting march 2017); Aramaki aza Aoba 6-3, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578, JP; weng.yuehhsuan@gmail.com; http://www.robolaw.asia.
- 1 The Cabinet of Japan, Draft outline of the robot revolution realization council. Japanese Prime Minister and his Cabinet, 2014 (http://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/singi/robot/ [all Internet sources accessed on 7 February 2017]).
- 2 The White House, Artificial Intelligence, Automation, and the Economy. US Executive Office of the President, 2016 (https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/documents/Artificial-Intelligence-Automation-Economy.PDF).
- 3 European Parliament, Draft Report with recommendations to the Commission on Civil Law Rules on Robotics (2015/2103(INL)), 31 May 2016 (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML%2BCOMPARL%2BPE-582.443%2B01%2BDOC%2BPDF%2BV0//EN).
- 4 Ivana Kottasova, Europe calls for mandatory «kill switches» on robots, CNN 12 January 2017 (http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/12/technology/robot-law-killer-switch-taxes/).
- 5 Drunken Kanagawa man arrested after kicking SoftBank robot, The Japan Times 7 September 2015 (http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/09/07/national/crime-legal/drunken-kanagawa-man-60-arrested-after-kicking-softbank-robot-in-fit-of-rage/#.WJV1Xvl95Pb).
- 6 The Educational Programming Guide for Going Places, ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance, 2007 (http://parkcityhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Teacher-Background-Information.pdf).
- 7 Eric Morris, From horse power to horsepower, Access Magazine 2007, No. 30.
- 8 Locomotive Acts, Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locomotive_Acts; https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B5%A4%E6%97%97%E6%B3%95).
- 9 Yueh-Hsuan Weng/Chien-Hsun Chen/Chuen-Tsai Sun, Toward the human-robot coexistence society: on safety intelligence for next generation robots, International Journal of Social Robots 2009, Volume 1, Issue 4, pp. 267–282.
- 10 Rolf Pfeifer/Josh Bongard, How the Body Shapes the Way We Think: A New View of Intelligence, MIT Press, New York 2006.
- 11 Yueh-Hsuan Weng/Yusuke Sugahara/Kenji Hashimoto/Atsuo Takanishi, Intersection of «Tokku» Special Zone, Robots, and the Law: A Case Study on Legal Impacts to Humanoid Robots, International Journal of Social Robots 2015, Volume 7, Issue 5, pp. 841–857.
- 12 A Guidebook on the Project for Practical Applications of Service Robots, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Tokyo 2011.
- 13 Christopher Harper/Gurvinder Virk, Towards the Development of International Safety Standards for Human Robot Interaction. International Journal of Social Robots 2010, Volume 2, Issue 3, pp. 229–234.
- 14 Alan Winfield, Ethically Aligned Design, Robohub 2016 (http://robohub.org/ethically-aligned-design/).
- 15 Paul D. MacLean, The Triune Brain in Evolution, Plenum, New York 1990.
- 16 Nick Bostrom, Superintelligence, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2014.