Abstract: Robots and artificial intelligence in a wider sense do not have a subject status in the current law. However，the subjects of civil law show the trend of expansion and there are no technological obstacles in empowering robots with legal status. The overseas discussion about robots’ subject qualification in the law diverges into two trends: objectivism and subjectivism. The objectivism includes the theory of product liability, the theory of analogizing the application of animal subject and other different theories. The subjectivism includes the theory of agency, the theory of electronic personality and other different demonstration methods. However, the objectivism cannot cope with the rapid development and the intellectualization of robots. Meanwhile, the subjectivism fails to take into account the reality that the artificial intelligence is yet to develop into fullblown. At present, the discussion of legal personality of robots in China should be based on the theory of the explanation of positive law and conform to the principle of “artificial intelligence as the object”. In addition, we can take artificial intelligence under specific circumstances as legal subjects by the legal technology of “fiction” so as to lay further legal foundation in the face of rapid development of artificial intelligence.

Key words: electronic personality, fiction , robots, the legal personality of artificial intelligence