Rights for daemons: the question of legal personhood

Abstract

Avatars are electronic representations controlled by their users. They are a common feature of virtual social worlds. However, advances in technology and artificial intelligence have led to the emergence of software-generated characters that can be indistinguishable from human-controlled Avatars. This chapter focuses on the potential criminal liability of these algorithm-guided characters, non-Avatar Characters (NACs), or Daemons. As Daemons become increasingly like Avatars, the question arises whether virtual social worlds will have double standards for Daemons and Avatars. The chapter addresses the challenging question of Daemon criminal liability and punishing Daemons.