The Digital Person—A New Legal Entity? On the Role of Law in an AI-Based Society

Abstract

The starting point is that there is a need to discuss the concept of “digital person ” as a new legal entity in light of the development and application of AI technology. The purpose is not just to introduce yet another term to add to those of the natural person and the legal person. The intention is rather to initiate the notion of a new legal figure, which under certain circumstances tentatively could be granted a legal capacity, with rights and responsibilities. The risk is otherwise an emerging dysfunctional legal society where there is no legal entity , which can take the role of the subject. Issues that arise concern e.g., self-driving car liability , pricing algorithms on the competitive market and data protection when profiling consumers. Furthermore, well-established principles on openness and transparency are also in jeopardy. This is especially apparent in the context of machine learning and dynamic algorithms. More specifically, there is a risk that a passive community can lead to legal losses on behalf of both individuals and organizations. A risk scenario would be when various transactions, which occur in digital environments, are not recognized as legally valid because the intelligent agent applied is neither recognized as a natural nor a legal person.