This document discusses potential legal frameworks for regulating cognitive machines, including product liability law, legal personhood models, and agency. It presents a decision tree to determine whether machines should be treated as products, corporations, children, or agents. The document also notes challenges in regulating cognitive technologies due to fragmentation across agencies and a lack of expertise on emerging skills.

1. COGNITIVE MACHINES
REGULATION AND LIABILITY

2. Creative commons
copyright Kurtis Garrett
https://www.flickr.com/phot
os/kjgarbutt/

3. ?

4. Legal Punishment
Criminal Law, Tort Law, Contract Law
Creative Commons copyright
Joseph Kranak
https://www.flickr.com/photos/9421531
3@N00/
Creative Commons copyright
Pictures of Money
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pictures-
of-money/

5. Robots/Machi
nes
Product
Liability
Emotional human
beings
Physical/Monetary
“pain”

6. Cognitiv
e
Machin
es

7. Legal Decision
Tree
Robot/
Machines
Product
Liability
Emotional
Being
Warni
ng
Manufacturi
ng
Desig
n
Chil
d
Cor
p.
Agen
cy
What legal framework is most appropriately
applied, if any?

8. Cog as Machine:
Product Liability law
Defe
ct
Desig
n
Manufacturi
ng
Marketi
ng
Substantial
ly
Altered
Assumptio
n
of Risk

9. Legal Decision
Tree
Robot/
Machines
Product
Liability
Emotional
Being
Warni
ng
Manufacturi
ng
Desig
n
Chil
d
Cor
p.
Agen
cy

10. Legal Personhood(s)
• Various levels of ascribing rights and
responsibilities.
Natura
l
Person
s
Corporati
ons
Incapacitate
d/
Children
Age
nt

11. COG as Corp.
Creative Commons copyright
Pictures of Money
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pictures-
of-money/

12. Legal Decision
Tree
Robot/
Machines
Product
Liability
Emotional
Being
Warni
ng
Manufacturi
ng
Desig
n
Chil
d
Cor
p.
Agen
cy

13. COG as Child
Children get a
pass
Exception:
Intentionality
Attractive
Analogy

14. Legal Decision
Tree
Robot/
Machines
Product
Liability
Emotional
Being
Warni
ng
Manufacturi
ng
Desig
n
Chil
d
Cor
p.
Agen
cy
Cor
p.

15. Agents for COGs
Wild
anim
al
unreasonab
ly
dangerous
crimes
of
intent

16. Legal Decision
Tree
Robot/
Machines
Product
Liability
Emotional
Being
Warni
ng
Manufacturi
ng
Desig
n
Chil
d
Cor
p.
Agen
cy
What legal framework is most appropriately
applied, if any?

17. Liability isn’t the whole
story.
Regulati
on
Liabilit
y

18. Regulation: fragmentation
DOT
States
NASANHTSA
FAA
FDA
SEC
Smart
Cities
?

19. Regulation: skill set gap
Creative Commons copyright
https://www.flickr.com/photos/
carlez/

20. Where do we go from
here?
Private
Sector
Governm
ent
Educati
on