Robotica Speech Rights and Artificial Intelligence

In every era of communications technology - whether print, radio, television, or Internet - some form of government censorship follows to regulate the medium and its messages. Today we are seeing the phenomenon of 'machine speech' enhanced by the development of sophisticated artificial intelligence. Ronald K. L. Collins and David M. Skover argue that the First Amendment must provide defenses and justifications for covering and protecting robotic expression. It is irrelevant that a robot is not human and cannot have intentions; what matters is that a human experiences robotic speech as meaningful. This is the constitutional recognition of 'intentionless free speech' at the interface of the robot and receiver. Robotica is the first book to develop the legal arguments for these purposes. Aimed at law and communication scholars, lawyers, and free speech activists, this work explores important new problems and solutions at the interface of law and technology.

The thesis; Ronald Collins and David Skover; Prologue: technology and communication; 1. The progress and perils of communication; 2. Robots and their receivers; 3. The new norm of utility; Epilogue: from Areopagitica to Robotica; The commentaries; Robotica in context: an introduction to the commentaries Ryan Calo; The age of sensorship Jane Bambauer; Speech in, speech out James Grimmelmann; An old libel lawyer confronts Robotica's brave new world Bruce E. H. Johnson; What's old is new again (and vice-versa) Helen Norton; Reply Ronald Collins and David Skover; Robotica refined.

In every era of communications technology - whether print, radio, television, or Internet - governments have found ways to control and censor communication. The same will occur with artificial intelligence and robotic expression. This is the first book to develop new First Amendment defenses and justifications for covering and protecting robotic speech.

Ronald K. L. Collins is the Harold S. Shefelman Distinguished Scholar at the University of Washington School of Law.
David M. Skover is the Fredric C. Tausend Professor of Constitutional Law at Seattle University School of Law.