Las The legal implications of artificial intelligence between contract and tort

Abstract

The paper introduced several legal issues arising from the growing spread of artificial intelligence and robotics, highlighting the need for civil law to intervene in an increasingly pervasive technological context.

In the contractual sphere, the concept of smart contracts was examined, arguing against granting legal personality to algorithms. Instead, it was considered preferable to attribute responsibility to the conscious assumption of risk by the contracting party who chooses to use automated systems, thus accepting the consequences of the software’s actions—bringing into the contract a logic of risk typically associated with tort law.

The second part of the essay addressed the issue of liability for damages caused by robots, rejecting the idea of autonomous legal personality for software agents. A gradual approach was proposed, aiming to calibrate the level of machine autonomy according to actual needs, combining automation with human oversight, as an alternative to an “all or nothing” logic. In this context, the central issue turned out to be the distribution of responsibility among the various parties involved, particularly between manufacturers and users.

In conclusion, caution was recommended in legislative intervention to avoid the pacing problem, and the importance of assessing the legitimacy of each solution in light of the fundamental principles of the legal system was emphasized.