Every year, We Robot recognizes select papers that stand out among the rest. These awards, designated in honor and remembrance of Ian Kerr, recognize emerging scholars’ innovative contributions to robotic law and policy. We are excited to publicly announce that the We Robot 2022 top paper award recipients were Bhargavi Ganesh and Daniel Hinkle!

Bhargavi’s paper, “If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It: Steamboat Accidents and their Lessons for AI Governance,” written in collaboration with Stuart Anderson and Shannon Vallor, situates existing proposals for AI governance within the framework of federal interventions for steamboat accidents in the mid-1800s. Daniel’s work, “Tales from The Sausage Factory: Three Case Studies on State Legislation Regarding Robots,” draws on lessons learned from laws and ordinances put in place for three different cases of automation and considers the role that robot developers play in regulating emergent technologies.