AI: some legal and ethical issues
preparation stage. However, such a point is not necessary for a person to be guilty of an attempted crime. In R v Tosti and White, 14 for example, the defendants had the intention to burgle a barn, but instead ran off after examining the padlock of the door, without damaging anything. Yet, they were still charged for attempted burglary. The question here was one of proximity: it differs from the case of R v Campbell in that the defendants had actively examined the padlock, and were therefore very close to committing burglary. Consequently, in this third interpretation, P being very close to submission and thereby committing fraud is sufficiently MTMP. In conclusion, the contemplation of submitting an essay written by artificial intelligence would not be an act of ordinary attempted theft, because the successful act of submission would not qualify as theft. Instead, this act would be fraud, and its contemplation would be attempted fraud, solely under the condition that P has an intention to gain a favourable result in the essay competition, as well as the fact that P has already uploaded the essay to the submission screen and is only one click away from submitting it.
Bibliography
Cases
R v Campbell [1991] 93 Cr App R 350. R v Tosti and White [1997] Crim LR 746.
Legislation
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (c.48) Criminal Attempts Act 1981 (c.47) Criminal Law Act 1977 (c.45)
Fraud Act 2006 (c.35) Theft Act 1968 (c.60)
Books, journals and websites
Chayka, K. Is A.I. Art Stealing from Artists? www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/is-ai-art- stealing-from-artists#:~:text=Is%20A.I.-. Consulted: 22/08/23 Cordell, N. Copyright Litigation in the UK: Overview. https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/w- 011-3729?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)&firstPage=true. Consulted: 22/08/23 Eaton, S. Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity, Post-Plagiarism. www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20230228133041549#:~:text=In%20the%2 0case%20of%20artificial. Consulted: 22/08/23 Pinsent Masons. UK Copyright Law: The Basics. www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/guides/copyright- law-the-basics. Consulted: 22/08/23
14 R v Tosti and White [1997] Crim LR 746
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