Ride the Lightning

Cybersecurity and Future of Law Practice Blog
by Sharon D. Nelson Esq., President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc.

European Parliament Seeks Robot Law – But Not Robot Tax

February 21, 2017

European lawmakers called on February 16th for EU-wide legislation to regulate robots, including an ethical framework for their development and deployment and the establishment of liability for the actions of robots including self-driving cars.

But, as Reuters reported, they rejected a proposal to impose a so-called robot tax on owners to fund support for or retraining of workers put out of a job by robots.

The resolution is a recommendation to the bloc's executive, the European Commission, which the Commission is not obliged to follow but must give reasons if it chooses not to.

"The EU needs to take the lead on setting these standards, so as not to be forced to follow those set by third countries," the parliament said in a statement.

The decision to reject the robot tax was hailed by the robotics industry, which says it would stunt innovation. "The IFR believes that the idea to introduce a robot tax would have had a very negative impact on competitiveness and employment," said the Frankfurt-based International Federation of Robotics.

Global shipments of industrial robots rose 15 percent in 2015, according to the latest statistics from the IFR, and were worth a total of about $46 billion. Demand for service robots for medical, domestic and personal use is also on the rise.

The parliamentary resolution on the amended report was passed by 396 votes to 123, with 85 abstentions.

Europe seems to be ahead of the U.S. here, particularly with respect to the emphasis on ethical considerations. Will the rich be allowed to buy driverless cars programmed to protect the life of the driver at all costs? It shouldn't be allowed, but without a legally enforceable ethics framework, we all know what will happen.

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