"An AI may be technically responsible for causing harm, such as financial loss or injury"

Have you considered how the use of AI affects your contracts and legal obligations? Probably not, but fortunately Olivia is here to help

- OLIVIA WHITCROFT

I haven't written an article focused on Al since issue 353, when naturally I talked mostly about the television series Quantum Leap and its Al Ziggy. Sadly, Quantum Leap is now no more - the reboot leapt away after season 2, taking with it my hopes of seeing Sam Beckett again. AI, on the other hand, continues to leap into all our lives.

In fact, there's so much to update you on that I'm writing not just one, but two successive articles on legal Al developments.

Since issue 353, the EU AI Act has come into force, and its provisions have started to apply in phases - a topic for the second article next month. In the UK, there isn't much AI-specific legislation as yet, but there is a lot of talk about the law and AI, and the topic has been popping up in court judgments, too. Actually, “popping up” isn't strong enough, as we've just had a huge decision (205 pages) in the Getty Images vs Stability AI intellectual property case. I need some more time to read that, so that's for the next article, too.

In my work, even where Al isn't the focus of the matter I'm advising on, it manages to flitter in there anyway. I'm advising on a subject access request: Al has been used to draft the request. I'm reviewing an agreement for a software platform: the platform has a shiny Al add-on. I'm advising a company on licensing its software: Al was used to assist with the coding. A question I ask when taking on a new matter: “Are you going to be using AI?” The answer is usually: “Well, I'll probably use Al a bit.”

This article considers legal and contractual liabilities in the Al supply chain, and the use of AI to create products and deliverables. In the next article, as well as the EU AI Act and the Getty Images judgment, I'll look at some data protection developments.

Who is responsible for the actions of AI?