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Problematics of Legality in terms of the AI’s vehicles global deployment

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In the present-day world many innovations are originated and implemented into our today’s reality. Various spheres are ameliorated, being advanced towards a respective upgrading. It is thus quite foreseeable that the law realm is not remaining on the sidelines as it has already been affected by some sophisticated cutting-edge novelties – what evinces the relevance of this scientific work.

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The primary purpose of the scientific work is to demonstrate the importance of the adoption of special legislation and regulations, resilient to the new conditions of AI’s deployment into social relations. Many issues arise pertaining to the subjects aforementioned and jeopardising a pivotal and inseparable element of the legal machinery – legality of certain actions. Juridical system is facing challenges concerning a significant mission – the maintenance of stability and harmonization of legislation in context of modernization and emergence of new social relations.

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Presentation of the main body of the thesis. First of all, it is significant to put the emphasis on the interpretation of the term ‘legality’. According to the definition provided by Olha Skakun, legality is understood by the complex (principle, method, regime) socio-legal phenomenon that characterises the organisation and functioning of society and the state on a legal basis. Legality reveals the legal nature of the configuration of socio-political life, the organic liaison between law and power, law and state, law and the public. Legality is also the regime of the existing law, the position of compliance with public relations, legislation and its subordinate acts, which, in turn, entail the reflection of particular principles of freedom and justice set out in law [1].

 

As some concepts have the inextricable linkage with the fundamental law principles, it can be assumed that some novelties deployed into our contemporary pace of life are able to become afurther milestone in the law’s evolution for the reason that some advanced relations are still not regulated on the way they have to be. To my mind, nowadays jurists and other representatives of our global society are bearing a strong need of theoretical framework more than ever, because in the absence of the above-mentioned, it will be impossible to preserve the principle of legality and other tenets likewise.

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Although Artificial Intelligence, also known as AI, was introduced years ago, it is still taken into consideration as something totally innovative. The invention, which was supposed to be a specific informational system, has escalated into a strong branch of novel relations’ establishment. In consequence of the absence of AI’s regulation, the legality is being targeted. For instance, automated vehicles powered by the Artificial Intelligence are gaining popularity around the world. Unfortunately, they are still treated not as sources of an increased danger, but as gadgets which are supposed to be taken under control. This illusion makes the majority ignore some problems which have already become a double-edged issue for some researchers.

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In conformity with the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, also ratified by Ukraine, article 8 (1 and 5) sets forth that: «Every moving vehicle or combination of vehicles shall have a driver»; «every driver shall at all times be able to control his vehicle or to guide his animals». The bottom line is the tendency that some individuals have started to shift their responsibility for delinquency to autonomous vehicles and alterations to the legislation haven't been made worldwide.

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Furthermore, it hasn't been stipulated clearly who is liable for the accidents –whether it is a driver or a car manufacturer, this confusion endangers the principle of legality directly. These days, it happens that those, who produce the vehicles and supplies them to the market, decide whether to take the responsibility for their inventions or not. As an example, ‘Volvo’ president, Håkan Samuelsson said that ‘Volvo’ would accept full liability whenever its cars are in autonomous mode [2]. Another signal for regulations is the data that can be taken into account from the website known as ‘Tesla Deaths’ which gives the constantly updated record of Tesla fatalities and the confirmed Tesla autopilot crashes [3]. Moreover, the dissonance lies in the ideas that are implemented into autonomous cars by large international corporations – as according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the vehicles may reach the fifth level of automation (which implies that the human occupants are just passengers and need never be involved in driving) by the year 2025 [4].

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Taking the above into consideration, it can be concluded that further scientific discussion has to be conducted, entailing the formulation of the cases where and when is it allowed to use autonomous vehicles, including the development and expansion of the conceptual framework which accommodates these innovations on an international level, and ultimately the establishment of a proper transparency in the identification of the liability. In such a perspective, the legal sphere will keep up with the times, acting as a powerful system where legality and other fundamental law principles are complied with.

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References

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1. Skakun O. Theory of the state of law. Textbook, 2001 – URL: http://politics.ellib.org.ua/pages-1725.html

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2. IEEE SPECTRUM – URL: https://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/transportation/self-driving/why-you-shouldnt-worry-about-liability-for-selfdriving-car-accidents

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3. Tesla Deaths – URL: https://www.tesladeaths.com

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4. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) – URL: https://www.nhtsa.gov/technology-innovation/automated-vehicles-safety

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Officially Published at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (p. 350 - 351)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KzmeMFULB8PK2CXHEHfCovDIfaQoX3n8/view

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Published in May 2021

https://prianykovabusiness.wixsite.com/prianykova/post/international-human-rights-defender-on-artificial-intelligence

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