An Introductory Study on the Challenges of Artificial Intelligence in Tort Law

Document Type : Research Article

Author

Lewis Fellow for Law Teaching and Lecturer on Law, Harvard Law School (2019-2021) The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, Affiliate.

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are creating a promising future in tech innovations. From early cancer detection apps to autonomous vehicles, possibilities seem to be endless. Yet, with such technology, harm is also bound to follow. In such instances, the issue of tort liability begs our attention. Who should bear reasonability in case of an accident? When is an injury foreseeable? Such questions in negligence law will require a different perspective when one is dealing with an accident arisen out of the implementation of AI. Should tort law take the route of products liability law? Or will traditional negligence law be sufficient? This article takes a bite at the current literature on autonomous vehicles and medical malpractice law and the challenges of assigning liability. It also offers a look into possible guiding principles for AI. This article aims to provide a roadmap for further research in Iran on the intersection of torts and AI.

Keywords

References

Badini, H. & Takhshid, Z. (2019). “A Critical Study of the Methodology of Comparative U.S. Tort Law Research (with Dr. Hassan Badini)”, 49 Private law Studies Quarterly, U. of Tehran L. Rev, No. 2, pp. 217-237. (in Persian)
Barzegar, M. & Elham, G. (2020). “Criminal Liability for Self-driving Cars For the Injuries Caused by It”, Criminal Law Research, pp. 201-229. (in Persian)
Copeland, B.J., Britannica, Artificial Intelligence (2020). https://www.britannica.com/technology/artificial-intelligence.
Darai, M. (2016). “Discharge of Civil Liability of Physicians in New Islamic Penal Code of Iran”, Private Law Research. (in Persian)
Filabadi, B., Pouresmaili, A., & Najafi, H. (2018). “Innovations and Developments of the Mandatory Third-Party Liability Insurance as a Result of Car Accident”, Iranian Journal of Insurance Research. No. 132, pp. 81-100 (in Persian).
Fjeld, J., Achten N., Hilligoss, H., Nagy, A., & Srikumar, M. (2020). “Principled Artificial Intelligence: Mapping Consensus in Ethical and Rights-based Approaches to Principles for AI”, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society.
Fry, H. (2018). Hello World: How to Be Human in the Age of the Machine, Penguin Random House.
Minssen, T., Gerke, S., Aboy, M., Price, N., & Cohen, G. (2020). “Regulatory responses to medical machine learning”, Journal of Law and the Biosciences, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 1-18.
Giuffrida, I. (2019). “Liability for AI Decision-Making: Some Legal and Ethical Considerations”, Fordham Law Review.
Heilweil, R. (2019). Artificial intelligence will help determine if you get your next job, https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/12/12/20993665/artificial-intelligence-ai-job-screen.
Hosny, A., Parmar, C., Quackenbush, J., Lawrence, H., Schwartz, L., Aerts, H., (2018). Artificial intelligence in Radiology, 18 Nat Rev Cancer 500.
Katouzian, N. (2013). Civil Liability General Principles, Vol. 1, Tehran, University of Tehran Publication. (in Persian)
------------------. (2014). Civil Liability Specific Torts, Vol. 2, Tehran, University of Tehran Publication. (in Persian)
Kelnar, D. (2017). The fourth industrial revolution: a primer on Artificial Intelligence. https://medium.com/mmc-writes/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-a-primer-on-artificial-intelligence-ai-ff5e7fffcae1.
Knight, W. (2017). The Dark Secret at the Heart of AI, MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2017/04/11/5113/the-dark-secret-at-the-heart-of-ai/.
Lee, Don, Desperate for workers, aging Japan turns to robots for healthcare (July 25, 2019) https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-07-25/desperate-for-workers-aging-japan-turns-to-robots-for-healthcare.
Price, N. W. (2018). “Medical Malpractice and Black-Box Medicine, in Cohen, I., Lynch, H., Vayena, E., & Gasser, U. (Eds.). Big Data, Health Law, and Bioethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Price, N. W., Gerke, S., & Cohen, IG. (2019). “Potential Liability for Physicians Using Artificial Intelligence”, JAMA.
Ramanujam, E., Padmavathi, S., (2019). “A Vision-Based Posture Monitoring System for the Elderly Using Intelligent Fall Detection Technique”, Guide to Ambient Intelligence in the IoT Environment (Zaigham Mahmood ed.).
Safai, S. H. & Rahimi, H. (2015). Civil Responsibility, Samt Publication. (in Persian)
Selbest, A. D. (2020). “Negligence and AI’s Human Users”, Boston Law Review.
Townson, Sian, AI Can Make Bank Loans More Fair, https://hbr.org/2020/11/ai-can-make-bank-loans-more-fair (November 06, 2020).
Woodall, ‌B. (2018). Uber avoids legal battle with family of autonomous vehicle victim https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-selfdriving-uber-settlement/uber-avoids-legal-battle-with-family-of-autonomous-vehicle-victim-idUSKBN1H5092
Zakhem, G. A., Motosko,C., Ho, R., (2018). “How Should Artificial Intelligence Screen for Skin Cancer and Deliver Diagnostic Predictions to Patients?”, 154 JAMA Dermatol 1383.
Zittrain, J. (2019). The Hidden Costs of Automated Thinking, The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-hidden-costs-of-automated-thinking .
Private Law
Volume 18, Issue 1
Spring & Summer
April 2021
Pages 227-250

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics