Ana Rita Campos
BARRILERO SPS
We are witnessing an unprecedented technological transformation.
For the first time in history, millions of individuals and organisations rely daily on artificial intelligence systems capable of generating immediate responses to complex legal, medical, financial, and commercial questions. Such systems are increasingly integrated into decision-making processes, often occupying a role traditionally reserved for qualified professionals.
Yet this technological advancement raises a fundamental legal question: who bears responsibility when reliance on artificial intelligence results in damage?
The law of civil liability has long been founded upon a relatively straightforward premise: where unlawful conduct causes damage, the party responsible for that conduct may be held liable for the resulting loss. The traditional framework requires the identification of a wrongful act or omission, damage, and a causal link between the two.
Artificial intelligence challenges each of these elements.
Where an individual relies upon inaccurate legal information generated by an AI system and subsequently suffers loss, the attribution of liability becomes considerably more complex. Should liability rest with the developer of the system, the provider of the service, the professional who relied upon the output without adequate verification, or the user who chose to act upon the information received?
Neither legal doctrine nor existing legislative frameworks provide definitive answers.
The difficulty arises, in part, from the very nature of contemporary AI systems. These technologies are designed to generate coherent, persuasive, and apparently authoritative outputs. Their increasing sophistication creates a heightened risk that users will attribute to them a degree of reliability that may exceed their actual capacity to produce accurate or contextually appropriate responses.
At the same time, it is essential to recognise that artificial intelligence remains a tool rather than an autonomous legal actor. Regardless of its technological complexity, AI lacks legal personality, intentionality, judgment, and the capacity to appreciate the legal consequences of its outputs.
This distinction is of critical importance.
Human professionals may commit errors; however, those errors are ordinarily attributable to identifiable people who are capable of assuming legal responsibility for their decisions and conduct. By contrast, artificial intelligence may generate inaccurate or misleading information without awareness, intent, or understanding of the consequences that may arise from reliance upon such information.
For legal practitioners, the implications are particularly significant. Reliance upon inaccurate legal advice or erroneous interpretations of the law may result in substantial economic losses, procedural disadvantages, or the forfeiture of legal rights. Consequently, professional judgment, independent verification, and critical assessment remain indispensable, irrespective of the technological tools employed.
It is therefore concerning to observe a growing tendency to delegate functions requiring legal analysis, prudential assessment, and professional accountability to systems that cannot themselves bear responsibility for the consequences of their outputs.
Artificial intelligence undoubtedly represents a powerful instrument capable of enhancing legal research, improving efficiency, and facilitating access to information. However, it cannot replace the inherently human responsibilities of verification, evaluation, and decision-making.
From a legal perspective, technological innovation must not result in the erosion of the fundamental principles underpinning civil liability. The increasing complexity of AI systems cannot be permitted to create a legal vacuum in which damage occurs, but responsibility becomes impossible to attribute.
The central issue is not whether artificial intelligence is capable of making mistakes. Rather, it is whether legal systems are adequately prepared to address the consequences of those mistakes and to ensure that accountability remains attached to the individuals and entities that design, deploy, rely upon, and benefit from such technologies.
The challenge facing the law is therefore not to impede innovation, but to ensure that technological progress develops within a framework of legal certainty, accountability, and effective protection of rights.
In an increasingly automated society, the objective should not be to shield ourselves from artificial intelligence, but to preserve the human judgment that remains indispensable to its responsible use.
No matter how sophisticated algorithms may become, legal responsibility ultimately continues to rest with those who choose to create, implement, rely upon, and act on their outputs.
