Machines without Principals: Liability Rules and Artificial Intelligence

INTRODUCTIONThe idea that humans could, at some point, develop machines that actually "think" for themselves and act autonomously has been embedded in our literature and culture since the beginning of civilization.1 But these ideas were generally thought to be religious expressions-what one scholar describes as an effort to forge our own Gods2-or pure science fiction. There was one important thread that tied together these visions of a special breed of superhuman men/machines: They invariably were stronger, smarter, and sharper analytically; that is, superior in all respects to humans, except for those traits involving emotional intelligence and empathy. But science fiction writers were of two minds about the capacity of super-smart machines to make life better for humans.One vision was uncritically Utopian. Intelligent machines, this account goes, would transform and enlighten society by performing the mundane, mind-numbing work that keeps humans from pursuing higher intellectual, spiritual, and artistic callings.3 This view was captured in the popular animated 1960s television show The Jetsons.4 As its title suggests, the show's vision is decidedly futuristic. The main character, George Jetson, lives with his family in a roomy, bright, and lavishly furnished apartment that seems to float in the sky. George and his family travel in a flying saucer-like car that drives itself and folds into a small briefcase. All of the family's domestic needs are taken care of by Rosie, the robotic family maid and housekeeper, who does the household chores and much of the parenting.5 George does "work." He is employed as a "digital index operator" by Spacely's Space Sprockets, which makes high tech equipment. George often complains of overwork, even though he appears to simply push buttons on a computer for three hours a day, three days a week.6 In other words, the Jetsons live the American dream of the future.In tangible ways, this Utopian vision of the partnership between humans and highly intelligent machines is being realized. Today, supercomputers can beat humans at their own games. IBM's "Deep Blue" can beat the pants off chess grand-masters, while its sister-super- computer "Watson" can clobber the reigning Jeopardy champions.7 But intelligent machines are more than show. Highly sophisticated robots and other intelligent machines perform critical functions that not long ago were thought to be within the exclusive province of humans. They pilot sophisticated aircraft; perform delicate surgery; study the landscape of Mars; and through smart nanotechnology, microscopic machines may soon deliver targeted medicines to areas within the body that are otherwise unreachable.8 In every one of these examples, machines perform these complex and at times dangerous tasks as well as, if not better than, humans.But science fiction writers also laid out a darker vision of intelligent machines and feared that, at some point, autonomously thinking machines would turn on humans. Some of the best science fiction expresses this dystopian view, including Stanley Kubrick's 1968 classic film 2001: A Space Odyssey.9 The film's star is not the main character, "Dave" (Dr. David Bowman, played by Keir Dullea), or "Frank" (Dr. Frank Poole, played by Gary Lockwood), who are astronauts on a secret and mysterious mission to Jupiter. Instead, the character who rivets our attention is HAL 9000,10 the all-knowing supercomputer who controls most of the ship's operations, but does so under the nominal command of the astronauts. The complexity of the relationship between man and the super-intelligent machine is revealed early in the film. During a pre- mission interview, HAL claims that he is "foolproof and incapable of error,"11 displaying human-like hubris. And when Dave is asked if HAL has genuine emotions, he replies that HAL appears to, but that the truth is unknown.12Once the mission begins, tensions between HAL and the astronauts start to surface. …