This video starts with the simple question: would you consider a Humanoid as legal person sometime in the near future?

Humanoids can be shortly defined as a robot that resembles human beings. Currently they have been developed and are getting close to a real person. And soon enough, you will not be able to see the difference. Voices are getting more natural, skin is close to ours. Outside is ok. However, the inside, the embedded software, the electronic soul if you will, is going to take few more years to reach our intelectual and ethical capabilities. 

Thinking ahead of time, by 2030 Artificial Intelligence researchers are predicting that those humanoids will be fully autonomous and able to take decisions for themselves and for those around him (like helping somebody to cross a street). 

Once that level of accomplishment is achieved, some regulations and laws are needed to draw lines of responsibilities and obligations to those manufaturers and also the buyers. Those machines will need to be controlled, monitored and regulated in order to be among us. Perhaps all of them should carry a serial number as their ID protocol and be owned like a house, with proper registration of property. 

Now, what about legal personality, like those ascribed to corporations, entities, rivers and natural persons, shall we grant them this legal status ? Shall humanoids be liable for errors, able to sue, be sued and be responsible for their own acts?

I have no idea, lucky me that I have some assistance from Mauricio Kimura, Legal Researcher at the University of Waikato, Who will be explaining to me what’s behind this polemic and complex subject.