Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Property and privatisation in RoboCop

2008; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 4; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1017/s1744552308003029

1744-5531

Michael Robertson,

Ethics and Social Impacts of AI

The 1987 film RoboCop is not just a science fiction action story; it is also a critique of the neoliberal resurgence in law and politics at the end of the twentieth century. In particular it critiques the privatisation of police services, and the expansion of private property claims to cover a cyborg policeman, notwithstanding its human components. I connect the critique in the film with the broader academic literature dealing with the privatisation of police forces and the expansion of private property claims, particularly copyright and patents. Finally, I consider whether, as a result of the neoliberal expansion of private property rights over the last few decades, the law could now justify a private property claim over a cyborg like the one in the film.