The UK Jurisdiction Taskforce (UKJT) has published its final legal statement on liability for AI harms under the private law of England and Wales, following a public consultation earlier this year. The statement seeks to address in what circumstances, and on what legal bases, English law will impose liability for loss that results from the use of AI.
The UKJT takes the view that English law is flexible, has frequently accommodated novel and disruptive technological developments, and has shown that it can provide certainty and predictability in the face of technical innovation.
The overall message of the statement is that English law is generally well-equipped to respond to the types of liability questions that AI may in due course present, although the application of existing legal concepts to particular issues will always be highly fact-dependent and some areas of uncertainty are acknowledged.