Introduction to Artificial intelligence and the Law

AI is the field devoted to building artifacts capable of displaying, in controlled, well-

understood environments, and over sustained periods of time, behaviours that we
consider to be intelligent, or more generally, behaviours that we take to be at the
heart of what it is to have a mind. Of course this answer gives rise to further
questions, most notably, what exactly constitutes intelligent behaviour, what it is to
have a mind, and how humans actually manage to behave intelligently.

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) phenomenon was first defined by J. McCarthy in 1956. In
1956, the basic focus in defining AI came from the starting point of human thinking,
but this also created a kind of controversy regarding the very definition of thinking
and intelligence. At the same time, technological progress in the field of ICT and the
Internet has formed a starting point in the further legal and practical definition and
application of AI.

Law is vitally important to the development of AI, and AI will have a transformative
effect on the law given that many legal rules are based on standards of human
behaviour that will be automated. As AI increasingly steps into the shoes of people, it
will need to be treated more like a person, and more importantly, sometimes people
will need to be treated more like AI.1

The dream of artificial intelligence dates back seven decades to Alan Turing's
pioneering work. But only recently has AI been widely commercialized and
industrialized and found its way into every aspect of our lives. Fusing statistics,
computer science, and cognitive psychology, these complex digital systems, be they
physical robots or software-based services, can emulate and often surpass human
intelligence in areas such as reasoning, visual processing, pattern recognition, and
autonomous action.2

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the ability of machines to perform tasks that
typically require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition,
decision-making, and language translation. AI has rapidly advanced in recent years,
with applications in various fields such as healthcare, finance, transportation, and
entertainment. However, the use of AI also raises legal and ethical concerns,

1
R. Abbott, Introduction: Artificial Intelligence and the Law. In The Reasonable Robot: Artificial Intelligence and the
Law 2020, Cambridge University Press, (pp. 1-17). doi:10.1017/9781108631761.001
2
University of Birmingham. How has the law been pushed aside in the age of AI? Accessed May 26, 2023.
https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/quest/emerging-frontiers/ai-and-the-law.aspx
particularly in relation to accountability, transparency, privacy, and bias.

The law plays a crucial role in regulating the development and deployment of AI.
Legal frameworks need to be updated to address the unique challenges posed by AI
technologies. This includes issues related to intellectual property rights, liability for
harm caused by autonomous systems, data protection and privacy, discrimination and
bias in decision-making algorithms, and the ethical implications of creating machines
with human-like capabilities. To effectively regulate AI, legal professionals need to
have a deep understanding of the technology itself as well as the broader societal
implications of its use. Collaboration between legal experts and technologists is
essential to ensure that AI is developed and deployed in a responsible and ethical
manner.