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posted by martyb on Thursday June 05 2014, @06:50PM   Printer-friendly
from the while-(true)-{spawn()} dept.

Samir Chopra at The Nation proposes that we treat algorithms as agents of the companies that deploy them. In effect, treat computer programs as people, too.

From the article:

I suggest we fit artificial agents like smart programs into a specific area of law, one a little different from that which makes corporations people, but in a similar spirit of rational regulation. We should consider programs to be legal agents--capable of information and knowledge acquisition like humans--of their corporate or governmental principals. The Google defense--your privacy was not violated because humans didn't read your e-mail--would be especially untenable if Google's and NSA's programs were regarded as their legal agents: by agency law and its central doctrine of respondeat superior (let the master answer), their agents' activities and knowledge would become those of their legal principal, and could not be disowned; the artificial automation shield between the government (the principal) and the agent (the program) would be removed.

If such a position were adopted, there could be a significant impact on the permissibility of scanning of emails for targeted advertisements or on ISP's ability to perform deep packet inspection.

 
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  • (Score: 2) by urza9814 on Saturday June 07 2014, @01:45AM

    by urza9814 (3954) on Saturday June 07 2014, @01:45AM (#52485) Journal

    That's not murder; it's suicide ;)

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 07 2014, @06:47AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 07 2014, @06:47AM (#52542)

    I built it to die. Obviously, this is the same as genetically engineering a person with planned obselesence.