Experts brief EU on AI liabilities

Legalbrief Today Issue 4857

EU policy makers have been urged to introduce a new strict liability regime to address increased risks of harm arising from the operation of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. An Out-Law.com report notes that the recommendation is contained in a report prepared for the European Commission by an expert group formulated by the commission to explore liability and new technologies. The commission has committed to ‘put forward legislation for a co-ordinated European approach on the human and ethical implications of artificial intelligence’ early this year. The report concluded that there is no need for a new legal personality to be created to account for autonomous systems, and it also made it clear that existing rules on liability do not need to be rewritten to accommodate the use of AI. However, the expert group said ‘certain amendments’ were necessary to address the ‘specific characteristics’ of the technology and its applications, and the potential for the allocation of liability to be ‘unfair or inefficient’. Technology law expert Sarah Cameron, of Pinsent Masons, said she agreed with the expert group's conclusion that, for the purposes of liability, it was not necessary to give autonomous systems a legal personality. ‘Creating a new legal personality raises more issues than it solves. What obligations and rights would that legal personality have? How would the issue of assets or funding be addressed to deal with civil liability?’ she asked. The expert group's report was discussed at a meeting of the European Parliament's legal affairs committee two weeks ago.

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