The growing autonomy of AI is bringing forward numerous legal questions for policymakers as well as top labs. A recent Wall Street Journal article examined the liability potential for companies and what may impact it.

Co-Director Ryan Calo spoke to WSJ about how companies might approach their products to best position themselves in these conversations. It would be in the companies’ best interest to show how important they are to American life and business so they can be protected, Calo said.

He noted the legal examination of the labs’ potential liability looks like the negligence standards applied to hot air balloons and railroads in the 1930s. Hot air balloons were held to a higher standard around liability because they weren’t viewed as central to industry and existence.

“The courts were saying, ‘Who is using hot air balloons?’ These eccentric wealthy people,” Calo said. “Trains were critical because they were thought to be crucial to American infrastructure catching up to Europe, which was already industrialized.”

Read the full article here: AI Leaders Are Standing on a Liability Landmine