Our modern world has quickly turned into a digital interface where all of our problems can quickly be solved. Autonomous, self-learning and artificially intelligent products have simplified so many things for us, but they have also made things more complicated in the legal world. Even though these technologies have offered may safety benefits that have prevented human error and increased productivity and economic growth, they’ve raised some questions regarding product liability.
What New Technology Has Changed the Process of Product Liability?
New and emerging technologies have been able to adapt to most legal challenges, but when it comes to product liability lawsuits, the lines become fuzzy. One of the fundamental questions relates to who is and who should be liable when a new technology causes harm. Product liability laws that are already in place should be able to adapt to new technologies, but experts are still determining how.
With autonomous vehicles, for example, the level of input that a product requires from a user, and the amount of involvement and control that a user can have over a product, can vary greatly.
With new technological products, there are various other people that are involved in the manufacturing and design of the product (such as a piece of software or an iPhone). It can be hard for customers and attorneys to narrow down and locate who could have been liable for your injury.
Also, the concept of a product defect is now changing. What level of safety should a person expect from an autonomous, self-learning, or artificially intelligent product, when usually the product’s performance is based on the user’s own input, behavioral patterns, or other factors and data?
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