“One of the things robotics researchers often think about is how to design robots that are safe and can help us in our homes so that we can even trust them around our children,” explains robotics designer Andrew Ng. The researchers predict that before autonomous robots become commonplace in the home and office, they will be used to run MRI scanners, subway systems, and city traffic lights.

STANFORD (US)—As machines manage more everyday tasks, a group of scholars is thinking about the legal challenges that may arise.

“I worry that in the absence of some good, up-front thought about the question of liability, we’ll have some high-profile cases that will turn the public against robots or chill innovation and make it less likely for engineers to go into the field and less likely for capital to flow in the area,” says M. Ryan Calo, a residential fellow at Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society.

]]> http://www.futurity.org/science-technology/whos-liable-if-robots-run-amok/feed/ 9