A Theory of Tort Liability for Autonomous-machine-caused Harm

Developments in artificial intelligence and robotics promise increased interaction between humans and autonomous machines, presenting novel risks of accidental harm to individuals and property. This thesis situates the problem of autonomous-machine-caused harm within tort law’s doctrinal and theoretical framework, conceived as a practice of corrective justice. Crucially, due to machine-learning capabilities, harmful effects of autonomous machines may be principally un-foreseeable, and therefore, not legally attributable to the human agency of designers, manufacturers or users. This thesis assesses which tort doctrines—negligence, strict liability or vicarious liability—are most amenable to developing a theory of liability for autonomous-machine-caused harm. To this end, it argues that the doctrine of vicarious liability may be reconceived to hold human or corporate deployers vicariously liable for tortious harm caused by autonomous machines in the course of deployment. Under this approach, autonomous machines constitute a novel category of legal subject: pure legal agents without legal personhood.

Department dc:contributor.department

Law

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Huberman, Pinchas

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Benson, Peter

• Autonomous Machines
• Corrective Justice
• Legal Agency
• Legal Personhood
• Robot Law and Ethics
• Tort Law and Tort Theory

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1807/108347

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:utoronto.scholaris.ca:1807/108347