인공지능을 이용한 행위에 대한 법적인 평가 - 사법(私法)상 논의를 위한 시론(試論 또는 始論) -

The Fourth Industrial Revolution will change our way of life drastically. In particular, artificial intelligence has already been used in various ways in our lives, and has been growing remarkably in combination with high-end technologies such as big-data, block-chain, and biotechnology. It is the most important challenge to build a system to utilize these technologies in a way that could best benefit society. From the perspective of civil law, as we interact with more autonomous artificial agents, it is necessary to look into the contracting problem in relation to the transactions using them. In addition, tort liability is also important for the third parties harmed by their interactions with an artificial agent. In the case of an artificial agent, which has a considerable degree of autonomy in the spectrum of artificial intelligence, it would be difficult to anticipate the behavior of the agent in advance. Then, the agency law approach, which treats artificial agents as legal agents of their principals, will be reasonable and economically feasible. The legal theory, with a long history, provides a theoretical foundation for the rational decision of who is responsible for the use of artificial intelligence, for what extent of responsibility, etc. For tort liability for unexpected wrongdoing of autonomous artificial agents, the agency law approach is still meaningful in allocating liability, in addition to other legal theories including product liability. The last question would be whether an artificial agent could or should have any legal rights, duties, obligations as a legal person. Since it is a matter of social, political, economic decision to change its legal status rather than philosophical or conceptual one, it will require discussion and social consensus on the legal personhood in light of the technical status and utilization range of each artificial agent.