This article uses the recently issued report on civil law rules
on robotics by the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs
as an anchoring point. After a brief overview of the topic’s socio-economical background, it contains an attempt to define and explain artificial intelligence. By examining the role of autonomous machines
in the workforce, it gives an overview of the most pressing questions
the future of labour might bring. One closely connected issue is the
still unanswered question of liability regarding artificially intelligent
robots, which will most certainly have to be tackled by future policy
makers. Another such open question is a new approach on creativity,
where the key phrase “own intellectual creation” might have to be redefined in order to cover copyrightable works produced by computers.
Lastly, the European Parliament’s Report on Robotics calls for a new
European Agency for Robotics and Artificial Intelligence is addressed
