Papers by Francesca Episcopo
Hart Publishing eBooks, 2023
Frontiers in Robotics and AI
Robotics and AI-based applications (RAI) are often said to be so technologically advanced that th... more Robotics and AI-based applications (RAI) are often said to be so technologically advanced that they should be held responsible for their actions, instead of the human who designs or operates them. The paper aims to prove that this thesis (“the exceptionalist claim”)—as it stands—is both theoretically incorrect and practically inadequate. Indeed, the paper argues that such claim is based on a series of misunderstanding over the very notion and functions of “legal responsibility”, which it then seeks to clarify by developing and interdisciplinary conceptual taxonomy. In doing so, it aims to set the premises for a more constructive debate over the feasibility of granting legal standing to robotic application. After a short Introduction setting the stage of the debate, the paper addresses the ontological claim, distinguishing the philosophical from the legal debate on the notion of i) subjectivity and ii) agency, with their respective implications. The analysis allows us to conclude tha...
European Journal of Risk Regulation, 2021
This article offers a critical discussion of the “Report on Liability for Artificial Intelligence... more This article offers a critical discussion of the “Report on Liability for Artificial Intelligence and Other Emerging Digital Technologies” released by the Expert Group on Liability and New Technologies. In particular, the authors consider: the excessive diversity of applications encompassed through the notion of “artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies”; the distinction between high- and low-risk applications as a potential source of legal uncertainty; the primary reliance on evidentiary rules over substantive ones; the problematic role attributed to safety rules; the unclear relationship between the Product Liability Directive and other ad hoc liability regimes; the radical exclusion of electronic personhood as a way of addressing liability issues; and the limited contextualisation of compulsory insurance and no-compensation funds.
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Papers by Francesca Episcopo