Artificial intelligence is everywhere. Businesses are deploying chatbots to answer customer queries, process requests, draft communications and reduce costs. The attraction is obvious. The legal risk is less so.
Much of the commentary around AI focuses on the idea that the law is struggling to keep pace with technology. Whilst there is some truth in that, businesses should be careful not to mistake legal uncertainty for legal immunity.
The reality is that if your chatbot gets something wrong, a court is unlikely to throw up its hands and say, “the law hasn’t caught up yet.” Instead, it will reach for familiar legal principles and apply them to a new set of facts.
In other words, whilst AI disputes are an emerging area of law, they are likely to be resolved using well-established legal concepts such as negligence, negligent misstatement, misrepresentation and breach of contract. Courts have long recognised that liability can arise where inaccurate information causes foreseeable
