Brookings Institute - Our Cyborg Future - Law and Policy Implications (epub)

We are increasingly reliant on robots for security and military purposes, commercial benefit, and personal, everyday use. And while innovations in robotics moves at a rapid pace, the law and regulatory guidelines around these technologies have not. Who will regulate the integration of these technologies into our societies? How will we allocate risk and liability around these technologies? How will the economic benefits of this innovative technology be maximized? How should we think about robotic design to best serve humans’ interest? What are the major regulatory challenges around robotics? What new laws or legal clarifications are needed? How should the government intervene, or not?

This paper series – focused on the future of civilian robotics – seeks to answer the varied legal questions around the integration of robotics into human life.