Bill > AB316

This bill adds a new section to California's Civil Code that addresses legal liability for harm caused by artificial intelligence (AI). The bill defines AI as an engineered system that can autonomously generate outputs influencing physical or virtual environments. Specifically, the legislation prohibits defendants who develop, modify, or use AI from claiming that the AI autonomously caused harm as a legal defense in civil actions. While preventing AI developers from escaping responsibility by arguing the AI acted independently, the bill does not completely eliminate their ability to present other defenses. Defendants can still argue comparative fault, causation, or foreseeability, and introduce other relevant evidence to support their case. The legislation aims to hold AI developers and users accountable for potential damages caused by AI systems, reflecting growing concerns about the potential risks and unintended consequences of increasingly autonomous technological systems. This approach seeks to ensure that responsible parties cannot simply blame the AI itself for harmful outcomes, maintaining human accountability in the development and deployment of artificial intelligence technologies.

Budget and Finance, Business and Industry, Justice

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB316