Legal challenges for robots and autonomous artificial intelligence systems in the healthcare context with special reference to Covid-19 health crisis.

It is no longer far from reality that machines will not only help, but in many cases replace humans in their roles as caregivers, healthcare professionals, doctors and specialists, as well as in the decision-making process in the healthcare sector. Indeed, the field of health and care is an undisputed arena for the spread of robotic innovation. Artificial Intelligence has changed the architecture of the world, and this extends to the world of healthcare. This status quo will generate - or rather is already generating, given that robotics is not the future, but is already a reality - a series of multiple and multidisciplinary novel issues for health law and policy. This paper focuses on exploring the main legal considerations that arise, highlighting the need for various reforms of legal doctrine and regulatory structures. Given that robots and Artificial Intelligence are an emerging rather than an established component of healthcare delivery, this paper aims to provoke, challenge and inspire critical thinking about what is likely to be one of the highlights for health law and policy debates in the coming decades.