The Robot and Human Futures: Visualising Autonomy in Law and Science Fiction

Article

Goding, Vincent and Tranter, Kieran. 2023. "The Robot and Human Futures: Visualising Autonomy in Law and Science Fiction." Law and Critique: journal of critical legal studies. 34 (3), pp. 315-340. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10978-023-09360-7

Article Title	The Robot and Human Futures: Visualising Autonomy in Law and Science Fiction
ERA Journal ID	33565
Article Category	Article
Authors	Goding, Vincent and Tranter, Kieran
Journal Title	Law and Critique: journal of critical legal studies
Journal Citation	34 (3), pp. 315-340
Number of Pages	26
Year	2023
ISSN	0957-8536
	1572-8617
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10978-023-09360-7
Web Address (URL)	https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10978-023-09360-7
Abstract	This article argues that legal discourses about robots are framed within a limiting ‘human paradigm.’ While this is not a specific failure of lawyers, it has significant consequences for law in a digital future. This visualising of robots has its origins in mainstream twentieth-century science fictional tropes of artificial beings. This article begins by identifying the predominant science fiction tropes regarding artificial beings as a source of anxiety for human futures, as located in discrete bodies and as separate from humans. The article then traces this ‘human paradigm’ in robot law scholarship. It is shown how a focus on embodiment and separation disrupts appreciation of the emerging partial disembodiment and hybridity of digital autonomy. There is a continual sense of needing to keep robots and humans distinct and separate, which is not how digital futures are manifesting.
Keywords	Human; Robots; Law; Digital; Automation
Contains Sensitive Content	Does not contain sensitive content
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020	480408. Law, science and technology
	480403. Law and humanities
	480405. Law and society and socio-legal research
Public Notes	Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions.
Byline Affiliations	University of the Sunshine Coast
	Queensland University of Technology

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