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Mission Impossible? Artificial Intelligence, Space Debris, and the Legal Implications for Space Sustainability

  • Ioana Bratu
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The De Gruyter Handbook on Law and Digital Technologies
This chapter is in the book The De Gruyter Handbook on Law and Digital Technologies

Abstract

The escalating problem of space debris presents a global security threat. Even small particles, travelling at high speeds, pose severe risks to satellites integral to modern communication, navigation, and defense systems. The proliferation of space debris increases the probability of collisions, which could trigger a cascading effect known as the Kessler Syndrome, thereby intensifying the risk of further debris generation and amplifying the threat to operational space assets. Artificial intelligence (AI) offers promising solutions to mitigate the space debris phenomenon by enhancing detection, tracking, and removal operations. However, the integration of AI connected to the space debris phenomenon raises a series of concerns. Malfunctions of AI systems deployed in the controlled environment of planet Earth revealed the technology’s vulnerabilities. There is a risk that such technological flaws will increase in the unforeseen environment of outer space. From a legal perspective, AI-operated debris removal missions may challenge the provisions of international space law, such as the interpretation of jurisdiction associated with non-consensual debris removal missions, liability for damage caused by AI technologies deployed for identifying or removing debris, and the impact of AI-operated debris removal missions on the weaponization of outer space. This chapter investigates the techno-solutionism connected to the role of AI systems in the space debris crisis through the lens of the laws applicable to human activities in outer space. Furthermore, it proposes a series of guiding principles aimed at framing a responsible deployment of AI for sustainable space activities.

Abstract

The escalating problem of space debris presents a global security threat. Even small particles, travelling at high speeds, pose severe risks to satellites integral to modern communication, navigation, and defense systems. The proliferation of space debris increases the probability of collisions, which could trigger a cascading effect known as the Kessler Syndrome, thereby intensifying the risk of further debris generation and amplifying the threat to operational space assets. Artificial intelligence (AI) offers promising solutions to mitigate the space debris phenomenon by enhancing detection, tracking, and removal operations. However, the integration of AI connected to the space debris phenomenon raises a series of concerns. Malfunctions of AI systems deployed in the controlled environment of planet Earth revealed the technology’s vulnerabilities. There is a risk that such technological flaws will increase in the unforeseen environment of outer space. From a legal perspective, AI-operated debris removal missions may challenge the provisions of international space law, such as the interpretation of jurisdiction associated with non-consensual debris removal missions, liability for damage caused by AI technologies deployed for identifying or removing debris, and the impact of AI-operated debris removal missions on the weaponization of outer space. This chapter investigates the techno-solutionism connected to the role of AI systems in the space debris crisis through the lens of the laws applicable to human activities in outer space. Furthermore, it proposes a series of guiding principles aimed at framing a responsible deployment of AI for sustainable space activities.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents V
  3. Authors’ Biographies IX
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Part I: Digital Technologies and Social Transformation
  6. Cyber-Humans and Robotics 7
  7. Online Disinformation: Regulatory Issues and Approaches in the European Legal Landscape 31
  8. Agile Governance: Japanese Approach to Governing Cyber-Physical Systems 53
  9. Blockchain and Access to Justice 75
  10. Data Protection, Privacy, and Unfalsifiable Predictions 95
  11. The WTO in the Digital Age of Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Global Trade Governance: Some Fundamental Considerations 123
  12. When EU Law Meets (Large) Language Models 147
  13. The Charge of AI Systems, Smart Robots, and Information Technologies in Healthcare: A Normative Look into the Future 173
  14. Part II: The Legal Framework
  15. Sovereign Powers and Digital Liberties 191
  16. Technology As Regulation: Tensions, Transitions, and Tectonic Shifts in Governance 211
  17. The Law of Data-Driven Trade 229
  18. From AI Risks to Legal and Ethical AI Governance: A Four-Dimension Framework 251
  19. Agents and Persons? AI Systems Acting in the World and the Limits of Legal Personality 279
  20. Regulation by Design: Reshaping the Relationship between Technology Development and Law 303
  21. AI in the Courtroom: The Right to a Human Judge? 327
  22. Regulating AI Autonomy: A Constitutional Framework for the Digital Era 353
  23. Part III: Key Normative Challenges
  24. The Social Classification of Robots by Perceived Race and Gender 383
  25. Mission Impossible? Artificial Intelligence, Space Debris, and the Legal Implications for Space Sustainability 417
  26. Fintech: A Renaissance moment for Finance and its Regulation? 445
  27. Data Protection as a Normative Problem 483
  28. Artificial Intelligence for Sustainability and Sustainability of Artificial Intelligence: The approach of the EU AI Act 503
  29. Research Data Governance in a Digital Age 525
  30. From AI Ethics Principles to Practices: A Teleological Methodology to Apply AI Ethics Principles in the Defense Domain 549
  31. Labor Law and Automated Systems in the EU 571
  32. Index
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111346632-019

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents V
  3. Authors’ Biographies IX
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Part I: Digital Technologies and Social Transformation
  6. Cyber-Humans and Robotics 7
  7. Online Disinformation: Regulatory Issues and Approaches in the European Legal Landscape 31
  8. Agile Governance: Japanese Approach to Governing Cyber-Physical Systems 53
  9. Blockchain and Access to Justice 75
  10. Data Protection, Privacy, and Unfalsifiable Predictions 95
  11. The WTO in the Digital Age of Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Global Trade Governance: Some Fundamental Considerations 123
  12. When EU Law Meets (Large) Language Models 147
  13. The Charge of AI Systems, Smart Robots, and Information Technologies in Healthcare: A Normative Look into the Future 173
  14. Part II: The Legal Framework
  15. Sovereign Powers and Digital Liberties 191
  16. Technology As Regulation: Tensions, Transitions, and Tectonic Shifts in Governance 211
  17. The Law of Data-Driven Trade 229
  18. From AI Risks to Legal and Ethical AI Governance: A Four-Dimension Framework 251
  19. Agents and Persons? AI Systems Acting in the World and the Limits of Legal Personality 279
  20. Regulation by Design: Reshaping the Relationship between Technology Development and Law 303
  21. AI in the Courtroom: The Right to a Human Judge? 327
  22. Regulating AI Autonomy: A Constitutional Framework for the Digital Era 353
  23. Part III: Key Normative Challenges
  24. The Social Classification of Robots by Perceived Race and Gender 383
  25. Mission Impossible? Artificial Intelligence, Space Debris, and the Legal Implications for Space Sustainability 417
  26. Fintech: A Renaissance moment for Finance and its Regulation? 445
  27. Data Protection as a Normative Problem 483
  28. Artificial Intelligence for Sustainability and Sustainability of Artificial Intelligence: The approach of the EU AI Act 503
  29. Research Data Governance in a Digital Age 525
  30. From AI Ethics Principles to Practices: A Teleological Methodology to Apply AI Ethics Principles in the Defense Domain 549
  31. Labor Law and Automated Systems in the EU 571
  32. Index
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