The Risk-Based Approach of the European Union’s Proposed Artificial Intelligence Regulation: Some Comments from a Tort Law Perspective

Abstract

AbstractHow can tort law contribute to a better understanding of the risk-based approach in the European Union’s (EU) Artificial Intelligence Act proposal and evolving liability regime? In a new legal area of intense development, it is pivotal to make the best use possible of existing regulation and legal knowledge. The main objective of this article is thus to investigate the relationship between traditional tort law principles, with a focus on risk assessments, and the developing legislation on artificial intelligence (AI) in the EU. The article offers a critical analysis and evaluation from a tort law perspective of the risk-based approach in the proposed AI Act and the European Parliament resolution on a civil liability regime for AI, with comparisons also to the proposal for a revised and AI-adapted product liability directive and the recently proposed directive on civil liability for AI. The discussion leads to the illumination of both challenges and possibilities in the interplay between AI, tort law and the concept of risk, displaying the large potential of tort law as a tool for handling rising AI issues.