1. Different Interests at Stake: Who should bear the risk? By Emad Abdel Rahim Al- Dahiyat e.aldahiyat@abdn.ac.uk 19th ANNUAL CONFERENCE School of Law

2. What is an Intelligent Software Agent? Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act (UCITA) defines an agent as “ Computer program or an electronic or other automated means used by a person to initiate an action or to respond to electronic messages or performances on the person’s behalf without review or intervention by an individual at the time of the action, response or performance”. The Fundamental Characteristics of Intelligent Agent - Autonomy - Mobility - Polymorphism - Intelligence - Reactivity - Pro-activity - Adaptivity - Unreliability - Social ability

3. The problem of attributing liability  Software agents have some degree of control over their internal states and actions based on their own experiences.  Software agents might also operate in a manner unknown, unforeseen or unauthorized and consequently causes damages.  It is next to impossible to completely forecast the behaviour of such agent by its user or programmer.  It will become difficult if not impossible to distinguish between intelligent agents and determine which agent did not properly perform its task. I. Intelligent software agent

4. II. The Human User The user has no control over certain aspects of his agent, has no access to the source code and is even forbidden to decode and modify it. It is often difficult to prove negligence, and to identify the source of the negligence that was responsible for the defect. The legal relationship between the user and the electronic agent is not fully clarified Is it possible to make the user liable for the harm caused by the software agent beyond the work that was assigned by the user? If we attribute all the liability to the software user, a consumer may quickly be the victim of an electronic agent, and at the end consumer will mistrust the electronic commerce, and will no longer use an electronic agents.

5. Is it fair or even commercially reasonable to confer electronic agents an unlimited power to bind their users, regardless of the circumstances of the transaction?

6. III. The Programmer Producing the perfect, error-free program is a statistically impossible exercise. Even lengthy experience without the appearance of bugs does not make them impossible. The nature and timing of the pathological decisions cannot be known in advance. It is practically impossible to check software thoroughly or write instructions to handle all circumstances optimally". There is a difference between being optimally designed and being infallible. If we hold the software companies liable in all cases, consumer will behave recklessly and software companies will all go bankrupt.

7. How we can achieve an appropriate balance between these various interests? Primary question

8. + Everyone should face the consequences.

9. Intelligent Software Agent On-line Registration Digital Signature Autonomous patrimony Insurance

10. Creating companies for on- line trading Optimal level of knowledge/information (Scope, potential failures and risks, level of safety and reliability) Participating, in some way, in the programming process Judicial review The Human User

11. Optimal level of information (An agent’s creator need know where the agent goes to do its work. A consumer should inform the software company if he is going to put the product to some unusual purpose) Playing a role in the legislation process. Establishing technical standards by law (Imposing regulations on the software industry with which electronic agents must conform before any commercialization) Technological solutions The Programmer

12. The End Thank you for your attention