The Register has a story on “Robot Agents,” which provide online arbitration and mediation to help resolve disputes. The system, called e-Dispute connects claimants and respondents through chatrooms, video conferencing, and forums, with the goal of reaching a binding agreement.

Of course, the robot itself doesn’t actually make any decisions. That is left to an “independent online arbitrator”.

The first question that comes to my mind is: how is the arbitrator selected?

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