Andrea Bertolini

Robotic prostheses as products enhancing the rights of people with disabilities. Reconsidering the structure of liability rules

The term ‘robot’ refers to a wide variety of devices, serving very different purposes. The case of robotic prostheses is considered here. After defining such devices, and briefly describing the technical peculiarities that characterize their functioning and distinguish them from traditional implants, their relevance with respect to the fundamental rights of people with disabilities is considered. Pursuant to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a claim is made that favouring the development of said applications may be required to subscribing states. In light of such considerations, the liability regime – namely that emerging from the Defective Product Directive – is analysed, in the attempt to determine – with a prospective analysis – the impact that said rules are likely to have on their development. The technology-chilling effect and the anticipated extremely complex evidentiary burden the user would have to face in order to obtain compensation lead us to conclude that legal reform is advisable. Some alternatives are considered, and in particular that of the development of a – partially – state-funded no-fault plan, intended to allow more ex ante certainty for producers and researchers (favouring the development of said devices), and prompt and adequate compensation to the victim in case an accident occurs.

Regulating robotics : A challenge for Europe

Upon request by the JURI Committee, this paper aims at offering an analysis of the interplay between regulation and robotics in the European context. Since robotics represents a technological innovation, which will profoundly modify the societal structure, and a strategic market sector, the need for a legal appraisal and intervention emerge. The European Union is called to design a transparent and carefully tailored regulatory environment so as to influence the development of robotic applications in accordance with its core democratic values.

RoboLaw: Towards a European framework for robotics regulation

Abstract This paper intends to sum up the main findings of the European project RoboLaw. In this paper, the authors claim that the European Union should play a pro-active policy role in the regulation of technologies so as to inform the development of technologies with its values and principles. The paper provides an explication of the rationale for analysing of a limited and heterogeneous number of robotics applications. For these applications, the following issues are addressed: whether robotics deserve a special case of regulation; the direct and indirect role ethics can play in regulating technology; the transformations of both vulnerabilities and capabilities, and the effects of liability law in favouring the socially relevant applications. In conclusion, a reflection on the possibility to generalize some of the RoboLaw findings to other technologies is proposed, with respect to liability and ethics.

Robot companions: A legal and ethical analysis

ABSTRACT This article addresses some of the most important legal and ethical issues posed by robot companions. Firstly, we clarify that robots are to be deemed objects and more precisely products. This on the one hand excludes the legitimacy of all such considerations involving robots as bearers of own rights and obligations, and forces a functional approach in the analysis. Secondly, pursuant to these methodological considerations we address the most relevant ethical and legal concerns, ranging from the risk of dehumanization and isolation of the user, to privacy and liability concerns, as well as financing of the diffusion of this—still expensive—technology. Solutions are briefly sketched, in order to provide the reader with sufficient indications on what strategies could and should be implemented, already in the design phase, as well as what kind of intervention ought to be favored and expected by national and European legislators. The recent Report with Recommendations to the Commission on Civil Law Rules on Robotics of January 24, 2017 by the European Parliament is specifically taken into account.

Regulatory challenges of robotics: some guidelines for addressing legal and ethical issues

ABSTRACT Robots are slowly, but certainly, entering people’s professional and private lives. They require the attention of regulators due to the challenges they present to existing legal frameworks and the new legal and ethical questions they raise. This paper discusses four major regulatory dilemmas in the field of robotics: how to keep up with technological advances; how to strike a balance between stimulating innovation and the protection of fundamental rights and values; whether to affirm prevalent social norms or nudge social norms in a different direction; and, how to balance effectiveness versus legitimacy in techno-regulation. The four dilemmas are each treated in the context of a particular modality of regulation: law, market, social norms, and technology as a regulatory tool; and for each, we focus on particular topics – such as liability, privacy, and autonomy – that often feature as the major issues requiring regulatory attention. The paper then highlights the role and potential of the European framework of rights and values, responsible research and innovation, smart regulation and soft law as means of dealing with the dilemmas.

On Robots and Insurance

Does a robot producer, owner or user need insurance policy? What kind of risks derive from the use of robots? Are there any differences between insuring a robot and another product? And finally, who should bear the burden of paying the insurance premium? The objective of this article is to provide the reader with an overview on the issue of risk management of robotic applications through insurance contracts. Indeed, insurance products are essential for an effective technology transfer from research to market. As of today, the production, use and diffusion of robots, determines risks that can hardly be identified and assessed both with respect to the probability of their occurrence and to the consequences they might bring about. Thence, innovation causes existing insurance products to be inadequate, and often times, it leaves insurance companies in the complex position of needing to elaborate new solutions in the absence of complete information. This article discusses the reasons for those hindrances and identifies the essential issues that lawyers, economists and engineers need to address in their future research in order to overcome current limitations and ultimately develop efficient and adequate risk management tools.

Insurance and Risk Management for Robotic Devices: Identifying the Problems

Abstract Robotic devices represent a promising emerging market, in particular for advanced economies. Relevant investment in research witnesses the desire of states and supranational authorities to acquire a leading role in the industry. However, at least as relevant – for the emergence of such a market – is the development of an adequate legal framework and of innovative risk-management solutions. The producer is in fact responsible for all damages deriving from the use of his product, hence managing that risk is of strategic relevance. Robotic products pose – to that end – some specific issues that are here analysed, both legal and material. With respect to the first, some uncertainty remains about what rules may apply to robots. Notably, the increasing interaction of man and machine that these devices bring about causes different liability schemes to overlap, stressing the limits of those sets of rules, increasing uncertainty both with respect to who should be held liable and upon which conditions. With respect to the second, because of the novelty of some devices, we do not possess sufficient data on what kind of damages this applications may cause, and their frequency. Both aspects call for the elaboration of alternative strategies, including legal reform, to adopt preferable liability rules and allow real-life-scenario testing. Some solutions are here briefly considered.

Wearable Robots: A Legal Analysis

The paper provides a complete overview of the legal issues involving wearable robots, in particular ranging from their definition and applicable regulation at the European level, civil liability issues of producers and users as well as a brief approach to issues of human enhancement.