UM News
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (March 1, 2016) – Would Robo Cops eliminate racial bias or merely reflect the systemic nature of racism? Do human-robotic systems inherently feature “moral crumple zones” where the human bears the brunt of liability when the robot fails? Is Siri protected by the First Amendment? These and other timely topics will be discussed, debated, and dissected at We Robot 2016, a conference at the intersection of law, policy, and robotic technology that will be held April 1-2 at the University of Miami’s Newman Alumni Center.
Hosted by UM’s School of Law, the symposium builds on existing scholarship that explores how the increasing sophistication and autonomous decision-making capabilities of robots and their widespread deployment in homes, hospitals, public spaces, and battlefields requires rethinking existing legal and policy structures.
“We Robot has forged a community of researchers who are working to make the introduction of robots into every walk of life as painless as possible,” said A. Michael Froomkin, the Laurie Silvers and Mitchell Rubenstein Distinguished Professor of Law at UM and Program Chair for We Robot 2016. “This is no small task, since robots disrupt our assumptions about responsibility, liability, and even humanity.”
Froomkin; Ryan Calo, co-director of the UW Tech Policy Lab; and Dr. Ian Kerr, Canada Research Chair in Ethics, Law, and Technology at the University of Ottawa, are editors of Robot Law. The book, which will launch at the conference’s special series of workshops on March 31 at Miami Law, includes contributions from engineers, lawyers, philosophers, and active military personnel, and covers topics ranging from sex robots to robot physicians.
“Policymakers of all kinds are already writing rules for drones, driverless cars, and other robots,” said Calo. “We have an obligation as a community of interdisciplinary scholars to provide guidance.”
Registration is limited to 150 people, with additional seats reserved for UM faculty and students.
All March 31 Workshops will be held at the School of Law, 1311 Miller Drive, on the Coral Gables campus, with the April 1-2 events being held at the Newman Alumni Center, 6200 San Amaro Drive.
The cost is $35. Sign up at the conference’s registration page.