Artificial intelligence, autonomous drones and legal uncertainties

Jacques Hartmann*, Eva Jueptner, Santiago Matalonga, James Riordan, Samuel White

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    3 Citations (Scopus)
    69 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Drones represent a rapidly developing industry. Devices initially designed
    for military purposes have evolved into a new area with a plethora of
    commercial applications. One of the biggest hindrances in the
    commercial developments of drones is legal uncertainty concerning the
    legal regimes applicable to the multitude of issues that arises with this
    new technology. This is especially prevalent in situations concerning
    autonomous drones (i.e. drones operating without a pilot). This article
    provides an overview of some of these uncertainties. A scenario based
    on the fictitious but plausible event of an autonomous drone falling from
    the sky and injuring people on the ground is analysed from the
    perspectives of both German and English private law. This working
    scenario is used to illustrate the problem of legal uncertainty facing
    developers, and the article provides valuable knowledge by mapping real
    uncertainties that impede the development of autonomous drone
    technology alongside providing multidisciplinary insights from law as well
    as software electronic and computer engineering.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)31-48
    Number of pages18
    JournalEuropean Journal of Risk Regulation
    Volume14
    Issue number1
    Early online date3 Aug 2022
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 31 Mar 2023

    Keywords

    • drones
    • aviation
    • autonomous
    • tort

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