Posted on 09/27/2026 12:10:31 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Liability is much more effective than regulation at pushing companies to be safe.
OpenAI and Anthropic are the Mercedes and BMW of artificial intelligence. No, not because they’re expensive and vulnerable to cheap imports from the Far East. And not because they exude obnoxious “The Best or Nothing” and “The Ultimate Driving Machine” Teutonic attitudes. Instead, they share a growing fear of liability.
Some background: There are various levels of autonomous driving. In Level 2, AI controls the steering and speed, but drivers must keep their hands on the wheel and watch the road. Tesla’s oxymoronically named Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is Level 2. What we really want is Level 3: read a book, watch TikTok, text a friend while driving, but be ready to take over if asked. Waymo and robo-taxis are Level 4, driverless in limited geography and weather.
Both BMW and Mercedes received approval in Germany in 2024 for eyes-off Level 3 driving. This year, both paused their rollout in favor of driver-at-the-ready Level 2, citing costs. I’m convinced the real reason is liability. The most likely outcome in court is that if a Level 2 autonomous car crashes, it’s the driver’s fault, while if a Level 3 car crashes, it’s the carmaker’s fault.
Back to AI. With the recent hubbub about agents escaping containers and human extinction and guardrails and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s “We must pace the frontier,” I advise ignoring the noise and filtering everything through the question: Who’s liable?
In August, I suggested that AI companies are “covered by common-law fiduciary responsibility.”
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
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I was hoping that AI would get rid of lawyers!
Dollars to doughnuts AI can pass the bar exam.
There is something nefarious about this anxious plea by the AI creators to be regulated. Someday we will know what it is too.
In today's world, Model T Ford would have been sued to oblivion.
Large corporations of any kind benefit from regulation.
It strangles up and coming small future and current competitors with expensive red tape.
The “legal” community—especially those in charge—has a massive wake-up call in their near future.
And as an after effect of the structural changes, some will do well to wonder how their IQ had suffered such a decline as to get them into their current predicament.
The difference between G*D and democrat judges and lawyers ????
G*D doesn’t think HE is a democrat judge or lawyer.
Mercedes refused for years to bring in ABS brakes due to our litigious environment. 1978 German Mercedes get ABS, 1984 USA Merceds get ABS.
ABS in a rental saved me from a major catastrophe once.
Yep, it works well. Specially in the rain.
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