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AI systems and product liability

Published: 27 July 2021 Publication History

Abstract

The article examines whether the current product liability law provides an appropriate regulation for AI systems. This question, which is discussed at the example of the European Product Liability Directive, is of great practical importance in the current legal policy discussion on liability for AI systems.
This article demonstrates that in principle the liability requirements are also applicable to AI systems. If the conduct of an AI system is carefully distinguished from its properties, excessive liability can be avoided. To reverse the burden of proof in favour of the injured party in the case of faulty behaviour enables a liability regime that is fair to the interests at stake.
However, product liability law only applies if AI systems lead directly to personal injury or damage to property. Product liability law is not applicable insofar as AI systems indirectly lead to considerable disadvantages for the person concerned, in particular through assessments of persons. Protection against discrimination or otherwise unfair assessments by AI systems shall be effected by other legal instruments.

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Cited By

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  • (2024)European Product Liability for AI-based Clinical Decision Support SystemsDigital Governance10.1007/978-94-6265-639-0_2(15-40)Online publication date: 17-Dec-2024
  • (2024)On the Legal Aspects of Responsible AI: Adaptive Change, Human Oversight, and Societal OutcomesAI for People, Democratizing AI10.1007/978-3-031-71304-0_6(73-85)Online publication date: 3-Oct-2024
  • (2023)Automated Vehicles, Liability, and InsuranceThe Regulation of Automated and Autonomous Transport10.1007/978-3-031-32356-0_9(311-335)Online publication date: 13-Aug-2023
  • Show More Cited By

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    cover image ACM Conferences
    ICAIL '21: Proceedings of the Eighteenth International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Law
    June 2021
    319 pages
    ISBN:9781450385268
    DOI:10.1145/3462757
    Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than the author(s) must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected].

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    Published: 27 July 2021

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    Author Tags

    1. AI systems
    2. burden of proof
    3. product liability
    4. product liability directive
    5. strict liability

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    View all
    • (2024)European Product Liability for AI-based Clinical Decision Support SystemsDigital Governance10.1007/978-94-6265-639-0_2(15-40)Online publication date: 17-Dec-2024
    • (2024)On the Legal Aspects of Responsible AI: Adaptive Change, Human Oversight, and Societal OutcomesAI for People, Democratizing AI10.1007/978-3-031-71304-0_6(73-85)Online publication date: 3-Oct-2024
    • (2023)Automated Vehicles, Liability, and InsuranceThe Regulation of Automated and Autonomous Transport10.1007/978-3-031-32356-0_9(311-335)Online publication date: 13-Aug-2023
    • (2022)Liability for Autonomous SystemsLaw and Technology in a Global Digital Society10.1007/978-3-030-90513-2_3(51-73)Online publication date: 7-May-2022

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