Trahan unveils AI liability discussion draft - Live Updates - POLITICO

Rep. Lori Trahan unveiled a discussion draft for a bill that would make AI developers liable when their products cause harm, according to a POLITICO live updates post. The item appeared in POLITICO's live updates coverage. The report identifies Trahan as a representative. POLITICO describes the document as a discussion draft rather than an introduced bill, and states that the draft addresses liability for AI developers when their products cause harm.

The draft includes a provision on how courts should treat an AI system's conduct. Under it, courts would presume an AI system acted with the state of mind a person taking the same actions would have had. That language sets the assessment by comparison with a human actor performing the same action. POLITICO's excerpt does not name co-sponsors, specify which categories of harm would trigger liability, or identify which developers or systems the draft would cover.

As described, the proposal places liability on developers of AI products rather than on users. The liability provision applies to AI developers, and the presumption provision applies to an AI system's state of mind in court. POLITICO published the item as a live update, a format used for developing stories. The excerpt does not give a timeline for the draft, say whether other lawmakers support it, or indicate when or whether it would be introduced as legislation.