Helena Whalen-Bridge Constructing the Human-Robot Relationship: Stories of Ability and Fear in Cases of Criminal Liability for Driving Aids in Automobiles Introduction1 The meaning and signifcance of robots, mechanisms that automatically carry out functions by themselves, is intimately tied to humans. Understood initially as a machine resembling a human,2 robots now encompass any mechanical de- vice that functions automatically, replacing human efort.3 Robots are becoming increasingly integrated with daily life, and in the case of motor vehicles, human drivers are sharing responsibility for moving vehicles with robots. Technology has moved beyond control mechanisms in which the driving process was primarily under the driver’s control, such as cruise control, to mechanisms in which major portions of the driving process are under the robot’s control, such as autopilot.4 As used in this chapter, autopilot refers to vehicle driving aids that allow the vehicle to proceed without active control by the driver. These systems control the vehicle by executing decisions regarding position, distance and speed. For example, they can control the speed of the vehicle and the distance between cars, stop the car, and execute lane changes in trafc. They are autonomous devices, and once acti- vated they do not require human input to function. There is doctrinal scholarship regarding the legal rules arising from these developments,5 including criminal liability for injury or damage in part caused 1 The author gratefully acknowledges the guidance and support provided for this article by Prof. Dr. Sabine Gless, University of Basel, both in conceptualising the project and in identifying and assisting to translate the cases. The author also expresses gratitude for the translation assistance provided by Lia Börlin, University of Basel. Lastly, the author gratefully acknowledges support from the National University of Singapore, Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund Tier 1 Grant on Legal Narrative, Grant No. R-241-000-185-115. 2 Simon: Wired; LaFrance: The Atlantic. 3 See Encyclopædia Britannica; Cambridge Dictionary. 4 See e. g. United States Department of Transportation, National Highway Trafc Safety Ad- ministration, The Road to Full Automation (describing 0–5 levels of automation). 5 See e. g. Beck: Robotics and Criminal Law; Geistfeld: A Roadmap for Autonomous Vehicles; Gless: If Robots Cause Harm; Hildebrandt: Prefatory Remarks on Human Law and Computer Law; Hildebrandt: Criminal Liability and ›Smart‹ Environments. https://doi.org/10.5771/9783465145554-325 Generiert durch IP '207.241.231.108', am 17.01.2022, 14:13:26. Das Erstellen und Weitergeben von Kopien dieses PDFs ist nicht zulässig.