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Finally, a real "Digital Liberty" story for the mechanical among us. The EU has released a report mulling topics such as "electronic personhood" status for robots, and kill switches:
The European Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs has proposed a legal framework for robots that clarifies whether they should have the legal status of people, even as it recommends the inclusion of kill switches in automated systems. "A growing number of areas of our daily lives are increasingly affected by robotics," said rapporteur Mady Delvaux in a statement. "In order to address this reality and to ensure that robots are and will remain in the service of humans, we urgently need to create a robust European legal framework."
The committee's draft report, due to be considered by the full EU Parliament in February, says that robot sales were increasing about 17 per cent annually between 2010 and 2014, then in 2014 the rate jumped to 29 per cent, driven by automotive parts suppliers and the electronics industry. It also notes that robot-oriented patent filings have tripled over the last decade.
[...] The committee is calling for an EU agency to oversee robotics and artificial intelligence and for the adoption of a voluntary ethical code governing who will be accountable for the social, health, and environmental impact of robots. It wants to ensure that robots operate according to established legal, ethical, and safety standards. The committee also hopes robot designers will take responsibility for the actions of their creations. "Robotics engineers should remain accountable for the social, environmental and human health impacts that robotics may impose on present and future generations," the report says.
The Prometheans are coming, and they don't care about anything's personhood.
Also at BBC and The Guardian.
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by khallow on Monday January 16 2017, @09:55AM
(Score: 2, Insightful) by aristarchus on Monday January 16 2017, @10:19AM
Thank you for your concern, khallow. But when you are almost 2400 years old, you tend to know all the signs of medical conditions, so not to worry. Besides, it is only your obstinacy and coming to the aid of the most insidious enemies of personal freedom that could produce such verbiage from me, I assure you. So, if you calm down, I can as well. Then we can both go and mod down anyone who responds to Runaway's asinine journal, OK? Oh, and good luck with the pregnancy. Do you plan on carrying to term? It's your body, or not!
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Monday January 16 2017, @05:31PM
You know, if this is all you have in reply...he's right, and you know it, and you haaaaaate it :) Aristarkos here is sort of like Eth's good twin, the Eth from the universe where we stopped electing cryptofascists after Nixon. Unlike Eth, his trolling very often has useful and insightful things in it.
To Arist: liberals' biggest mistake is apologizing for being only mostly correct. Nil illegitimi carborundum, as they say.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday January 16 2017, @06:04PM
You know, if this is all you have in reply...
To what? Posts with substance get replies with substance.
And it might well be that Ethanol-Fueled and aristarchus are the same poster. You never see them in the same room together!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 16 2017, @07:22PM
You never see them in the same room together!
Interesting that you have noticed this. . . . But I have never seen them apart! So there is that.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 16 2017, @08:37PM
There must be time travel involved.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Monday January 16 2017, @08:33PM
Horseshit, Hallow. Aristarchus DOES say things with substance, and on a fairly regular basis. Eth is basically a shock jock wannabee; think Howard Stern with the attention span of a gnat and malignant Tourette's.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday January 17 2017, @08:19AM
Aristarchus DOES say things with substance, and on a fairly regular basis.
And when he DOESN'T, which is on an even more frequent, regular basis, don't expect me to bring my A game.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday January 17 2017, @06:29PM
You have an A game?
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday January 17 2017, @04:00PM
You haven't seen them in the same bed?