ON THE ADAPTATION OF CRIMINAL LAW TO CONFLICTS ARISING FROM ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGIES

Abstract

An examination of the treatment of criminal-law conflicts involving intelligent machines, i.e. devices equipped with artificial intelligence technology (AIT), is presented in this paper. Rejecting the view held by part of the academic literature concerning the inadequacy of criminal law structures to manage such conflicts, this article argues that all (or at least a substantial part of) difficulties related to attribution can be resolved by recognizing intelligent machines as occupying an intermediate category (‘actants’) between the traditional notions of ‘object’ and ‘subject’ upon which modern criminal law is founded. The article briefly outlines structures that would be influenced by such actants.