Legal Issues of Autonomous Vehicles

Drones and Computers: Legal and Liability Challenges

The first legal issue related to civilian drones, autonomous robots, and driverless cars is that of definitions. One cannot regulate something without defining it first but it is impossible to establish a unitary body of rules that apply to every type of robotic application. There is also a major legal issue of liability. To an extent, automation could challenge existing paradigms and increase cooperation between machines and humans (Halsey, 2017). This possibility causes the formulation of various sets of current rules that overlap and lead to uncertainty. However, privacy regulations and access to data remain important legal issues because people have a strong urge to protect their privacy as individuals.

Liability of Software Designers

To prove that an automated driving system registered unreasonable performances, the injured plaintiff is likely needed to show either that the human driver or the use of computerized driving would achieve better results (Halsey, 2017). In the case of autonomous vehicles, the manufacturers should take liability for any system in their vehicles. When there is a malfunction to the autonomous driving system during independent operations, the company involved should thereby take control of product liability.

Are Biometric Devices a Threat?

Biometric devices such as Google Glasses will transform the privacy game for better or worse. In Google’s case, the project is still a topic of discussion for many people since some consider it as a breakthrough in innovations and new technology (Arthur, 2013). Others view it as a self-deprecating commentary that will define how people behave in the future while also breaching users’ data rights because using it means the capture of one’s information without active consent. Such an outcome could be a huge turning point for the privacy of the consumers since these devices bring in a new possibility for companies having the capacity to obtain real-time information from the customer’s sensors.

References

Arthur, C. (2013, March 6). Google Glass: is it a threat to our privacy? [Web log post]. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/mar/06/google-glass-threat-to-our-privacy

Halsey, A. (2017, February 25). When driverless cars crash, who gets the blame and pays the damages? [Web log post]. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/when-driverless-cars-crash-who-gets-the-blame-and-pays-the-damages/2017/02/25/3909d946-f97a-11e6-9845-576c69081518_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c50208e8cfa2