Artificiell intelligens och dess rättsliga utmaningar i förhållande till det nya produktansvarsdirektivet
(2024) LAGF03 20242Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract
- Although the 1985 Product Liability Directive has been in force for almost 40 years, it has been considered an effective and important instrument. However, the development of new technologies, including artificial intelligence, has revealed certain shortcomings in the directive. EU has now adopted a new Product Liability Directive, which replaces the 1985 directive. This essay aims to analyze how the new directive has been adjusted to fit for the digital age.
The product liability regime is based on a strict liability, which is limited to cases where damage is caused by a “defect” in a “product”. Legal uncertainties have arisen regarding how these basic concepts and notions apply to new technologies. Therefore, a part of this essay... (More) - Although the 1985 Product Liability Directive has been in force for almost 40 years, it has been considered an effective and important instrument. However, the development of new technologies, including artificial intelligence, has revealed certain shortcomings in the directive. EU has now adopted a new Product Liability Directive, which replaces the 1985 directive. This essay aims to analyze how the new directive has been adjusted to fit for the digital age.
The product liability regime is based on a strict liability, which is limited to cases where damage is caused by a “defect” in a “product”. Legal uncertainties have arisen regarding how these basic concepts and notions apply to new technologies. Therefore, a part of this essay examines how the definitions of product and defect have been updated to better align with a digitalized society. Additionally, injured persons may face difficulties in proving a defect in the product, an occurred damage and the causal link between the two, particularly in relation to AI-systems. To address such complex cases, the new Product Liability Directive includes rules regarding disclosure of evidence and eases the burden of proof through rebuttable presumptions.
By adapting the concepts and notions underlying the application of the directive in relation to technological development, ambiguities that previously contributed to legal uncertainty seems to be clarified. Furthermore, the rules in the new directive concerning disclosure of evidence and the burden of proof appear as key aspects to ensure that those who suffer AI-related harm can enforce their compensations claims. At the same time, the question arises as to whether the nature of AI systems will affect the effectiveness of the rules, something that will ultimately remain to be seen as the member states implement the directive. Overall, the new Product Liability Directive contributes to increased clarity in how some of the legal issues of the digital age should be addressed, which is desirable since legal rules governing liability risks and accidents are considered beneficial for technological development. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Trots att 1985 års produktansvarsdirektiv varit i kraft i snart 40 år har det ansetts som ett effektivt och relevant instrument. Framväxten av ny teknologi, däribland artificiell intelligens, har dock bidragit till att direktivet brister i vissa hänseenden. EU har nu antagit ett nytt produktansvarsdirektiv, som ersätter 1985 års direktiv. Denna uppsats syftar till att undersöka hur det nya produktansvarsdirektivet utformats för att passa in i den digitala tidseran.
Reglerna om produktansvar kommer med ett strikt ansvar, begränsat till fall då en skada orsakats av en ”säkerhetsbrist” i en ”produkt”. Det är bland annat rekvisiten produkt och säkerhetsbrist som bidragit till osäkerhet beträffande regelverkets tillämpning på ny teknologi.... (More) - Trots att 1985 års produktansvarsdirektiv varit i kraft i snart 40 år har det ansetts som ett effektivt och relevant instrument. Framväxten av ny teknologi, däribland artificiell intelligens, har dock bidragit till att direktivet brister i vissa hänseenden. EU har nu antagit ett nytt produktansvarsdirektiv, som ersätter 1985 års direktiv. Denna uppsats syftar till att undersöka hur det nya produktansvarsdirektivet utformats för att passa in i den digitala tidseran.
Reglerna om produktansvar kommer med ett strikt ansvar, begränsat till fall då en skada orsakats av en ”säkerhetsbrist” i en ”produkt”. Det är bland annat rekvisiten produkt och säkerhetsbrist som bidragit till osäkerhet beträffande regelverkets tillämpning på ny teknologi. Uppsatsen undersöker därför hur dessa begrepp förändrats i det nya produktansvarsdirektivet för att möta kraven i ett mer digitaliserat samhälle. För en skadelidande kan det vidare vara svårt att bevisa att en produkt har en säkerhetsbrist, att denne lidit en ersättningsgill skada samt orsakssambandet däremellan när det gäller AI-system. För att hantera sådana komplexa fall har regler om utelämnande av bevis samt motbevisbara presumtioner införts i det nya produktansvarsdirektivet, som således också behandlas i uppsatsen.
Genom att begrepp och definitioner som ligger till grund för direktivets tilllämpning justerats i förhållande till teknologins utveckling, klargörs frågetecken som tidigare skapat rättslig osäkerhet. Vidare framstår direktivets regler om utelämnande av bevis och motbevisbara presumtioner som centrala i syfte att säkerställa att den som drabbats av AI-relaterad skada kan driva igenom sitt skadeståndsanspråk. Samtidigt väcks frågan huruvida AI-systemens egenskaper påverkar reglernas effektivitet, något som i slutändan återstår att se i samband med att direktivet implementeras i medlemsstaternas rättsordningar. Sammantaget bidrar det nya produktansvarsdirektivet till en ökad klarhet i hur några av de rättsliga utmaningar som den digitala tidseran medför ska hanteras, vilket är önskvärt eftersom lagstiftning som hanterar såväl ansvarsfrågan som olyckor anses gynnsamt för teknikutvecklingen. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9179472
- author
- Brundin, Linnea LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- LAGF03 20242
- year
- 2024
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- EU-rätt, skadeståndsrätt, produktansvar, artificiell intelligens
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9179472
- date added to LUP
- 2025-03-20 13:53:42
- date last changed
- 2025-03-20 13:53:42
@misc{9179472,
abstract = {{Although the 1985 Product Liability Directive has been in force for almost 40 years, it has been considered an effective and important instrument. However, the development of new technologies, including artificial intelligence, has revealed certain shortcomings in the directive. EU has now adopted a new Product Liability Directive, which replaces the 1985 directive. This essay aims to analyze how the new directive has been adjusted to fit for the digital age.
The product liability regime is based on a strict liability, which is limited to cases where damage is caused by a “defect” in a “product”. Legal uncertainties have arisen regarding how these basic concepts and notions apply to new technologies. Therefore, a part of this essay examines how the definitions of product and defect have been updated to better align with a digitalized society. Additionally, injured persons may face difficulties in proving a defect in the product, an occurred damage and the causal link between the two, particularly in relation to AI-systems. To address such complex cases, the new Product Liability Directive includes rules regarding disclosure of evidence and eases the burden of proof through rebuttable presumptions.
By adapting the concepts and notions underlying the application of the directive in relation to technological development, ambiguities that previously contributed to legal uncertainty seems to be clarified. Furthermore, the rules in the new directive concerning disclosure of evidence and the burden of proof appear as key aspects to ensure that those who suffer AI-related harm can enforce their compensations claims. At the same time, the question arises as to whether the nature of AI systems will affect the effectiveness of the rules, something that will ultimately remain to be seen as the member states implement the directive. Overall, the new Product Liability Directive contributes to increased clarity in how some of the legal issues of the digital age should be addressed, which is desirable since legal rules governing liability risks and accidents are considered beneficial for technological development.}},
author = {{Brundin, Linnea}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Artificiell intelligens och dess rättsliga utmaningar i förhållande till det nya produktansvarsdirektivet}},
year = {{2024}},
}