Guilty Robots? - Rethinking the Nature of Culpability and Legal Personhood in an Age of Artificial Intelligence
This article examines the impact of artificial intelligence and robotics on criminal law, specifically focusing on whether robots could theoretically gain legal personhood and criminal culpability. It analyzes current liability doctrines, arguing that because blameworthiness is socially constructed, granting criminal liability to robots would require treating them as suitable agents of responsibility based on social meaning and function. The authors conclude that while currently fictional, the concept of a guilty robot is not unrealistic in the future and serves to test and unveil the sociological foundations of criminal responsibility.
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Who issued it
Who it governs
Researchers, legal scholars, and policymakers interested in the intersection of criminal law, legal personhood, and artificial intelligence.
What the document contains
The article addresses potential conversion in criminal law due to robotics and AI, reviewing scenarios of criminal liability, the social construction of blameworthiness, and the conditions under which robots might gain legal personhood.
Specific legislative drafts, technical safety standards, and practical enforcement mechanisms for AI systems.
- Artificial intelligence and robotics have the potential to transform conceptions of criminal responsibility, personhood, capacity, and culpability.
- While some scenarios of robot-related liability can be handled by existing doctrines, others raise questions about whether robots could ever gain legal personhood.
- Blameworthiness is inherently socially constructed and follows social interaction and social meaning.
- Enabling robot criminal liability would require treating robots as suitable agents of responsibility.
- The ongoing technological progress tests the theory of criminal responsibility and clearly unveils its foundations and sociological implications.
How it scores
Each score is backed by a quote verified against the document text. Editorial review has not yet confirmed them.
Accountability
3/5Clear responsibility for AI outcomes
This article aims at giving an overview of the potential conversion criminal law is facing due to the increased importance of robotics and of artificial intelligence in our everyday lives.
Abstract
screening score · 2026-10-24
Fairness
0/5Non-discrimination and equitable treatment
Abstract
screening score · 2026-10-24
Human Dignity
0/5Respect for the inherent worth of persons
Abstract
screening score · 2026-10-24
Human Oversight
0/5Humans remain in control of consequential decisions
Abstract
screening score · 2026-10-24
Privacy
0/5Protection of personal data and private life
Abstract
screening score · 2026-10-24
Transparency
0/5Openness about how AI systems work and are used
Abstract
screening score · 2026-10-24
Enforcement
0/5Consequences and compliance mechanisms with real force
Abstract
screening score · 2026-10-24
Impact Assessment
0/5Required assessment of an AI system's risks/impacts before or during use
Abstract
screening score · 2026-10-24