Machines Making Decision : The Applicability of State Responsibility Doctrine in the Case of Autonomous Systems

The present thesis explores questions related to the state responsibility for autonomous systems. The aim of this thesis is to conceptualise and elaborate on the main state responsibility issues related to the autonomous systems. The analysis consists making a definition of autonomous systems, descriptive examination of the state responsibility doctrine in the present context and an attempt to concretise the phenomenon in the scenario analysis. For the purpose of the thesis, autonomous systems represent technical systems that have somewhat extensive independent decision-making capabilities. There are different categories of these systems and so called off-the-loop systems are the purest example of them. In addition to independence in decision-making processes, the capability to learn and to adapt in some extent in unpredictable circumstances is also typical for autonomous systems. All these features are assumed to be constructed by humans and thus at the meta level they cannot be fully separated from human influence. It is also relevant to understand that autonomous systems contain a group of technological apparatuses which through inter-communication form a coherent system. The defining and important matter from the legal perspective is the nexus between these systems that are gaining autonomy and the responsibility for those actions. It is the view taken in the thesis that contemporary state responsibility system is best described in the International Law Commission’s draft articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts. Following this premise, the research is concentrated on the topics arising from these articles. The main areas of the analysis are general applicability, attribution, state agent, circumstances precluding wrongfulness and ultra vires. Moreover, the framework included rundown of the due diligence and liability aspects of autonomous systems. Pursuant the thesis, it can be concluded that state responsibility includes an international wrongful act and attribution of that act to a state. In the autonomous systems context there is a huge number of primary norms and any breach or omission will lead to an international wrongful act. Attribution to a state is always based on a human or a group of humans. The autonomous systems cannot create the legal link of attribution as such. The circumstances to preclude wrongfulness can be applied to the autonomous systems as well. Additionally, actions committed by autonomous systems that include components from several states can lead to shared responsibility. It is also by definition that autonomous systems cannot act ultra vires in legal sense. Furthermore, in cases when the action of a state is not against an international norm but still causes damage, the liability regime might be applicable – also in the context of autonomous systems. The real life analysis of autonomous systems is always context specific and the chapter on scenario analysis will provide some examples of the state responsibility questions of the different stages (namely manufacturing, testing and using) of autonomous systems. The scenario analysis is an attempt to concretize an otherwise rather problematic phenomenon. To summarize, the present thesis gives an overview of the relevant state responsibility questions of autonomous systems

Algoritmi päätöksentekijänä? : Tekoälyn hyödyntämisen mahdollisuudet ja haasteet kansallisessa sääntely-ympäristössä

Algoritmisella päätöksenteolla on keskeinen merkitys valtionhallinnon digitalisaation edistämisessä. Sääntöpohjaisen ohjelmistorobotiikan ja tekoälyn käyttöön julkisessa päätöksenteossa liittyy kuitenkin riskejä. Selvityksen tavoitteena on kartoittaa algoritmisen päätöksenteon käyttöön liittyviä oikeudellisia reunaehtoja. Tutkimustietoa on vähän erityisesti datavetoisten teknologioiden kuten tekoälysovellusten hyödyntämisestä. Sen sijaan hallintoautomaatiota on kartoitettu myös kansallisessa tutkimuksessa, ja sääntöpohjaisesta automaatiosta on myös käyttökokemuksia valtionhallinnossa. Selvitystyössä on ilmennyt tarve kokonaisvaltaiselle ja johdonmukaiselle sääntelystrategialle, jonka kehittäminen on välttämätöntä, jotta algoritmista päätöksentekoa voidaan viranomaistoiminnassa lisätä vaarantamatta kansalaisten oikeusturvaa. Keskeiset ongelmakohdat paikannetaan hyvän hallinnon periaatteiden, tehokkaiden oikeusturvamekanismien, virkavastuun toteutumisen ja tiedon hyödyntämisen juridisiin kysymyksiin. Selvityksessä esitetään konkreettisina toimenpidesuosituksina 1) johdonmukaisen ja teknologianeutraalin sääntelystrategian luomista yleis- ja erityislakien kautta ja 2) algoritmisten järjestelmien vaikutusten arviointia, jolla vahvistetaan järjestelmien ennakollista ja jälkikäteistä kontrollia ja vältetään ennakoimattomia seurannaisvaikutuksia erityisesti liittyen järjestelmien läpinäkyvyyteen

Beyond the energy policies : conceptualising the nexus between energy security and international relations security studies

This study is an attempt to examine the nexus between energy security and International Relations security studies. The purposes of the thesis are, on one hand, elaborating the conversation concerning political aspects of energy security on international level, and on the other, bringing more theoretical depth to contemporary political analysis of energy affairs. One of the main issues of the study is to define the internal logics of the term energy security. This is achieved through the analysis of several factors in energy policies. The core data of the study are six energy initiatives of the European Union. Through reading of energy security argumentation, the thesis examines the nature of energy security claims and gives disciplinary meaning for the argumentation. By using four defining factors as an analytical tool, the nature of energy security argumentation is thus clarified. Simultaneously, the thesis concentrates on conceptualizing the relationship between energy security and International Relations security studies. This connection is researched through the process of policy analysis combined with theoretical reading of findings. It means that the research nexus is analysed from both perspectives – from the perspective of energy security and the perspective of the discipline. Therefore, this study used energy security as the defining concept of IR security studies. The thesis argues that energy security is a very flexible concept from the point of view of IR cecurity studies. According to the findings, energy security is vulnerable for securitisation acts. This means that energy security argument is particularly easily used to meet the needed criteria. In addition, the theoretical framework of IR security studies shows that energy security can be seen to have characters of many different IR security study theories. Hence, energy can be argued to be a usable concept from the perspective of these theories. Energy clearly has potential to be included in many discussions of security in International Relations