⚠️The question of liability for AI damage remains unresolved. Discussions about autonomous driving often focus on the ethical decision of AI in accident situations. In 2017, the Ethics Commission called for decisions based on personal characteristics such as age or gender to be prohibited. Researchers such as Bruno S. Frey and Lasse Steiner suggest letting chance decide, which seems absurd.
Human intelligence is still superior to AI in dialogues, as a case at Air Canada shows, where a chatbot granted an unauthorised refund. The German liability system and the EU’s new AI Act do not yet provide clarity.
𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿🌫️
There is agreement on banned AI systems, but things get more complicated with high-risk systems. Providers are held accountable, but the integration of multiple systems remains unclear. The EU’s AI Office, which is supposed to ensure legal certainty, has not yet started its work. At the same time, the EU has extended the Product Liability Directive to software solutions, including AI systems. Manufacturers are being held more accountable. The EU directives aim to simplify claims for damages, but leave open whether these should be directed at developers or operators. The burden of proof in court proceedings is to be simplified.
𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀🤔
For software manufacturers and AI developers, there is a minefield of potential liability cases. One example: Who is liable if an AI wrongly diagnoses an illness or incorrectly assesses creditworthiness? European regulations demand transparency and fairness, but this is difficult with black box AI. Liability issues remain complex. Europe is endeavouring to create a legal framework, but much remains to be done. Manufacturers, regulators and users must work together to find solutions. Until then, we should remain vigilant. Interestingly, Apple Intelligence is currently not available in the EU because Apple considers the requirements of the Digital Markets Act to jeopardise data security and privacy for Apple users.
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