Intelligent agents and intentionality: Should we begin to think outside the box?

The emergence of intelligent software agents that operate autonomously with little or no human intervention has generated many doctrinal questions at a conceptual level and has challenged the traditional rules of contract especially those relating to the intention as an essential requirement of any contract conclusion. This paper will explore some of these challenges, and shine a spotlight on the conflict between the traditional contract theory and the transactional practice in the case of using intelligent software agents. Further, it will examine how intelligent software agents differ from other software applications and then consider how such differences are legally relevant. This paper, however, is not intended to provide the final answer to all questions and challenges in this regard, but to identify the main components and provide perspectives on how to deal with such issues.