This paper considers the hotly debated issue of whether one should grant moral and legal personhood to intelligent robots once they have achieved a certain standard of sophistication based on such criteria as rationality, autonomy, and social relations. The starting point for the analysis is the European Parliament's resolution on Civil Law Rules on Robotics (2017) and its recommendation that robots be granted legal status and electronic personhood. The resolution is discussed against the background of the so-called Robotics Open Letter, which is critical of the Civil Law Rules on Robotics (and particularly of §59 f.). The paper reviews issues related to the moral and legal status of intelligent robots and the notion of legal personhood, including an analysis of the relation between moral and legal personhood in general and with respect to robots in particular. It examines two analogies, to corporations (which are treated as legal persons) and animals, that have been proposed to elucidate the moral and legal status of robots.

The European Parliament is calling for EU-wide civil law rules addressing the fast-developing field of technology – robotics and artificial intelligence. Robots assisting in the field of medicine or the automotive industry is already an everyday reality, however the civil law rules need to be adapted in order to boost innovation and creativity, address issues of liability in the case of damages and set ethical standards. The European Parliament is the first parliament to debate robotics and artificial intelligence. The Parliament's Resolution initiates a timely debate on a wide range of issues related to robotics and AI including standardisation, safety and security, data protection, autonomous vehicles, care and medical robots, human repair and enhancement, drones, liability rules, ethical questions, but also considers education and employment. "European industry in the field of robotics and AI deserves a legal framework within which it can continue to grow. Innovations go beyond borders and are carried out by experts from several member states working together. This collaboration requires our support. The creation of EU-wide rules on robotics is a necessary step forward to allow the full exploitation of the economic potential of the sector, to promote growth and innovation, and to protect and create more jobs", said Therese Comodini Cachia MEP, Parliament's Rapporteur for robotics.

The draft report, approved by 17 votes to two and two abstentions by the European Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs, proposes that "The most sophisticated autonomous robots could be established as having the status of electronic persons with specific rights and obligations, including that of making good any damage they may cause." My report on#robotics adopted today including a debate on tax and social system and the possible introduction of a general basic income! Authored by Luxembourg MEP Mady Delvaux, the report proposes definitions and outlines rules to govern how robots interact with humans "now that humankind stands on the threshold of an era" that it claims will see artificial intelligence (AI) "unleash a new industrial revolution." Press release after today's vote at @EP_Legal:"#Robots: Legal Affairs Committee calls for EU-wide rules" https://t.co/XTm7Bico9d AI developers will have to ensure their creations follow a set of rules that prohibit them from harming a human or allowing a human to come to harm through their inaction.

Artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and automation are possibly the most fascinating topics for those dealing with technology (and sourcing) matters. They raise a lot of interesting questions and scenarios. Even the few official legal documents about these subjects refer to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Pygmalion, Prague's Golem – and the more obvious Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics (see the EU Parliament Draft Report with recommendations to the Commission on Civil Law Rules on Robotics). But this is not only about philosophy and futuristic settings. There is already no doubt that robots, androids and all other forms of artificial intelligence are already playing a fundamental role in the new Internet of Things (IoT) "smart" industrial revolution, which will affect most if not all industrial sectors and countries.