Autonomous Vehicles, Artificial Intelligence, and the Law

• Jurisdiction: United States,Federal
• Publication year: 2018
• Citation: Vol. 1 No. 2

Paul Keller^*

Autonomous vehicle technology and the artificial intelligence used to "drive" along our roads is a staggering achievement. Their use, however, raises significant legal issues that will need to be considered and addressed as these technologies become more prevalent. This article explores these issues in four areas: law and regulation; product liability; privacy/cybersecurity; and intellectual property.

Autonomous vehicles ("AVs") have moved from the pages of science fiction to the streets in cities around the world. These robotic vehicles, many of which were built by robots, use state-of-the-art artificial intelligence ("AI"), and raise significant legal questions and challenges that the industry and policy makers need to consider.

This article explores these issues in four areas of U.S. law, including:

- Law and regulation;

- Product liability;

- Privacy/cybersecurity; and

- Intellectual property.

Law and Regulation

Although some of the current U.S. laws are flexible enough to address many of the issues raised by autonomous vehicles and the robotic and AI technology they contain and utilize, many legislatures (federal, state, and local) are enacting laws specifically aimed at these revolutionary devices.

The states were the first to enact legislation in this area. Since 2011, 41 states and Washington, D.C., have at least considered legislation related to autonomous vehicles, and at press time, 21 states¹ and Washington, D.C., have passed legislation related to autonomous vehicles. In addition, governors in five states² issued executive orders related to autonomous vehicles. It would not be

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surprising if the automotive industry sees the prospect of complying with the different rules and regulations in all of these states (some of which might be mutually exclusive to each other) as a daunting task and not the preferred approach. Many in the industry favor a national strategy for autonomous driving technology and have sought Congressional action. It appears, however, that just with the "standard" driving of today, some of the U.S. laws governing the space will be directed by the federal government while others will remain with the states. One traditional area of state regulation is the issuance of driver's licenses, yet AVs may mean that teenagers will no longer have this rite of passage because states are in the process of licensing robots to drive.

Currently, the capabilities of AI, including how it functions and potential applications, are still being learned by policy makers. Policy makers refer to goals such as "transparency" and "audit trails," but these goals are not necessarily compatible with AI technology. There are no broadly applicable laws that regulate artificial intelligence as such. Instead, with respect to autonomous vehicles, we are just beginning to see laws that, for example, consider the AV the "driver." Laws and regulations relating to the capabilities, limits, and transparency of AI will likely be forthcoming in the near future.

Federal Legislation

September 2017 brought federal legislation. The ''Safely Ensuring Lives Future Deployment and Research In Vehicle Evolution Act'' (the "SELF DRIVE Act") (H.R. 3388) unanimously passed the House of Representatives in early September. In late September, two Senators introduced a somewhat similar bill, The American Vision for Safer Transportation through Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies ("AV START") Act (S. 1885), which passed the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on October 4. Both bills would relate to vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or less (which would exclude most heavy trucks and buses). The two bills would prohibit a state from enacting or enforcing a law or regulation regarding the design, construction, or performance of an "automated driving system" ("ADS"), "highly automated vehicle" ("HAV"), or component of an ADS.

The bills would allow states to enforce identical standards to those promulgated by National Highway Traffic Safety

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