Export thread

So as an art project, some guys created a 'bot that had access to a bitcoin wallet, and turned it loose on the darknet to buy whatever it could using bitcoins with no other instructions than "buy stuff."

Among other things, the bot purchased ecstasy pills and a fake Hungarian passport.

The question of the day seems to be, are the guys who made the bot guilty of a crime?

If an AI were to purchase something illegal and mail it to its owner as a "surprise," is the owner criminally responsible?

That's some Isaac Asimov level shit right there...

I think if the owner could prove that there is no coding that specifically requests those items (or any illegal items)and it really is at random, then probably not. But if it's part of the programing to look for such items, then yes.

I'd say you'd have to be pretty stupid if you didn't see this coming. So...guilty.

Saw the article, interested in the outcome as it pertains to how its treatment will shape future legal issues.
If the predictions about The Singularity are true, and we attain a level of computation/simulation where an "e-man" can initiate its own decisions without any sort of human direction (other than what might be considered "training"), then how will society treat a synthetic consciousness if one e-man decides to go rogue? Also, how will society itself change once "society" is forced to expand to include AIs/e-men? More importantly, given what we know about high-frequency trading, how will AIs vote once the inevitable e-man-cipation finally happens?

--Patrick

Well, at least we know that we're getting the Big Friendly Computer. Who else would want to let you get high?

If you make a robot buy things, and then send it to a place known for selling illegal goods (because what else is sold on the darknet?) then you have to expect it will buy illegal things.

Ravenpoe said:

If you make a robot buy things, and then send it to a place known for selling illegal goods (because what else is sold on the darknet?) then you have to expect it will buy illegal things.

Click to expand...

I do kind of see what they are getting at. It's a bit like dredging a river and finding a dead body. I mean, dead bodies tend to hang out in rivers, but you don't really expect to catch one when you go trawling.

--Patrick

It's more like going to a river and finding a fish.

An electric eel, maybe.
I mean, I get it. The odds say you'll "hit" eventually. Someone wins the lottery every so often. But you don't expect it.

I think the failure was the assumption that the pool of possible items was large enough that they didn't expect to "win" anything illegal. Whoops!

--Patrick

IOW you're not going to find many air conditioning salesmen in the Arctic.

PatrThom said:

An electric eel, maybe.
I mean, I get it. The odds say you'll "hit" eventually. Someone wins the lottery every so often. But you don't expect it.

I think the failure was the assumption that the pool of possible items was large enough that they didn't expect to "win" anything illegal. Whoops!

--Patrick

Click to expand...

Did they let him loose on the internet, or actually on Darknet as the post here implies? The internet, ok, there's illega stuff but you don't expect it. Darknet, I don't think I've ever seen antything *legal*

Bubble181 said:

Did they let him loose on the internet, or actually on Darknet as the post here implies? The internet, ok, there's illega stuff but you don't expect it. Darknet, I don't think I've ever seen antything *legal*

Click to expand...

That's where I tend to fall on this too. If you let it loose on eBay, that's one thing. Letting it loose on the "Darknet" (I hate that term, but that's not important to this discussion) you will get different results.

That being said, legal responsibility on this should fall IMO more in-line with recklessness, as opposed to actively seeking out the goods involved. That's why (most of the time) laws are written differently for doing bad stuff while reckless, rather than deliberate intent. So crime, yes, but not harshly punished IMO.

As with many things in life, intent matters. Going to unlisted websites (doesn't sound as cool as Darknet) with bitcoins its fairly clear you are looking for untraceable transactions in legally dubious areas.

Hey hey, remember this? The bot got arrested. Then released (though the drugs it bought were confiscated and destroyed).

http://thedailywh.at/2015/04/wtf-da...sed-buying-ecstasy-swiss-art-project-bitcoin/