Robots and the Future of Retribution

This chapter studies the future of retribution and, in particular, the role that robots will play in shaping that future. It begins by describing the Bouphonia ritual, which speaks to two important features of the human condition: the enduring significance of practices of blame and punishment in human life, and the occasional absurdity of this desire. What happens when robots — or other sophisticated artificially intelligent (AI) machines — get embedded in our societies and have a part to play in criminal acts? Should they, like the knife in the Bouphonia ritual, be blamed for their contribution? Or should something else happen, something a little more radical? The chapter makes the case for radicalism. In particular, it suggests that the rise of the robots should lead us to reconsider the wisdom of our traditional practices of punishment and blame.