Russia has developed a comprehensive bill on the legal regulation of relations in the field of robot turnover. The document defines the concept of "robot", establishes their classes and consolidates the principles of the relationship between a robot and a person.

According to the head of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy Andrei Kutepov (author of the legislative initiative), now in Russia there is no special legislative regulation that takes into account the specifics of the use of robotics technologies, while in a number of countries there is already a primary legal regulation on this issue.

"The bill creates the foundations for the legal regulation of new social relations that are formed in connection with the use of robotics systems, which are predominantly stimulating in nature," says the explanatory note, the text of which is quoted by TASS.

It is emphasized that the legal regulation of relations in the field of turnover of robots and their constituent modules is based on the principles of human and citizen well-being, security of the individual, society and the state, openness of information about robotics technologies.

According to the document, a robot is a product of the achievements of digital technologies (a robotic device, a complex, a system), which consists of two or more component parts, it is controlled by means of a computer program embedded in it and is capable of performing both previously programmed actions by a person and solving tasks in offline mode.

Robots are divided into two categories: civil (industrial, service, medical, educational, scientific), whose activities are aimed at realizing private interests, and service (military and law enforcement), involved in the implementation of the interests of the state and society.

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Also, according to Kutepov, robots should be divided into four classes according to the degree of danger.

Robots from the first to the third class are proposed to be classified as sources of increased danger and to apply to them the general provisions of civil legislation on liability for harm "caused by activities that create an increased danger to others."

In addition, the bill proposes to prohibit the circulation of robots that are able to independently make decisions and are created for the purpose of committing crimes.

“On the territory of the Russian Federation, the circulation of robots that have the ability to independently make decisions and are able to act on the basis of an independently formulated behavioral algorithm, which are deliberately given properties to ensure their use with the use of weapons, its main parts, ammunition, explosives and explosive devices or other weapons, is prohibited. ", - indicated in the document.

Another provision of the draft law prohibits the issuance of a license for circulation and the creation of robots to legal entities and individual entrepreneurs performing the functions of a foreign agent, business entities controlled by foreign investors, as well as individual entrepreneurs who have an outstanding conviction for economic crimes, as well as medium gravity, grave or especially grave crimes.

The developed document was sent to the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Finance.

Commenting on the initiative in an interview with RT, the general director of ANO Digital Platforms Arseny Shcheltsin noted that it is necessary to prevent cases of infringement of human rights.

“Today, automated systems can not only perform some routine actions and subtasks, they can make decisions ... It is necessary to build an appropriate regulatory framework as requirements for manufacturers of such systems,” the expert said.

He noted that for the full and effective functioning of legislation in this area, it is important to take into account a number of features. 

“In my opinion, first you need to deal with philosophical and ideological concepts, after which we have to move on to normative ones.

All this must be done in full synchronization with the industry, developers, system manufacturers, experts, the scientific community, with the business and the international community, ”the analyst concluded.

As the chairman of the board of directors of the manufacturer of autonomous service robots for business "Promobot" Alexey Yuzhakov pointed out, it is necessary to involve the professional community, those involved in the development of robotic technology, in the issue of regulating the relationship between a robot and a person.

“The second thesis from me, as a representative of the industry, is that any regulation at the earliest stages is always harm in any case,” added the interlocutor of RT.