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 ID33565
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsGoding, Vincent and Tranter, Kieran
Journal TitleLaw and Critique: journal of critical legal studies
Journal Citation34 (3), pp. 315-340
Number of Pages26
Year2023
ISSN0957-8536
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
AbstractThis 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.
KeywordsHuman; Robots; Law; Digital; Automation
Contains Sensitive ContentDoes not contain sensitive content
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020480408. Law, science and technology
480403. Law and humanities
480405. Law and society and socio-legal research
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Byline AffiliationsUniversity of the Sunshine Coast
Queensland University of Technology
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