{"id":22566,"date":"2026-09-30T05:19:36","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T05:19:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=22566"},"modified":"2026-09-30T05:19:36","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T05:19:36","slug":"op-ed-ai-law-is-a-mess-looking-uglier-by-the-day-and-hard-fixes-are-required","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=22566","title":{"rendered":"Op-Ed: AI law is a mess looking uglier by the day and hard fixes are required"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 300px 160px; gap: 2px; width: 460px; background: #eee; padding: 2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u6574\u884c\u5bbd\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876674\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 90px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876676\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u7ad6\u6392 -->\r\n  <div style=\"height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876672\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"height: 500px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876680\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u6469\u5929\u697c\uff08\u548c\u5de6\u4fa7\u5b8c\u5168\u5bf9\u9f50\uff09 -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row: 3\/5; height: 750px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876678\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  \r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e6\" data-zoneid=\"5876682\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s bad enough that a new class of tech is creating legal situations that never could have existed before. It\u2019s worse that governance is so utterly slapdash, fragmented, ridiculously politicized, and incoherent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It seems that the law has made more of an ass of itself than usual. According to Gemini, even basic liability is an issue. I asked it, \u201cIf an AI agent hacks a government website, who\u2019s legally responsible?\u201d, <strong>based on the Australian Medicare hack,<\/strong> and got <strong>this fairly detailed answer<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-mess\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The mess<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The answer was pretty much as expected: liability on users or developers, etc., until this gem waddled in from the mists:<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>The Legal Hurdle (The \u201cIntent\u201d Loophole):<\/em><\/strong> <em>Most computer crime laws (like \u201cunauthorised access to restricted data\u201d) require prosecutors to prove <strong>intent<\/strong> or knowledge. If an AI developer did not instruct or intend for the agent to hack a website, proving criminal intent under current laws is exceptionally difficult.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIntent\u201d?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019re kidding.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Does a crime cease to be a crime or suddenly become non-existent because someone says they didn\u2019t intend to commit it?<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>If an AI agent or subagent performs a series of actions clearly designed to achieve a given outcome, how can it not involve some sort of objective intent?<\/em> <em>Lousy prompts don\u2019t help, but let\u2019s note that leaving out parameters also allows AIs a lot of room for \u201cinnovation\u201d. More modern and far more competent AI prompts are starting to look like novels.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Intent has to originate somewhere. What about bad actors, with whom the world seems so generously oversupplied?<\/em> <em>Can anyone get away with instructing a third party to conduct a hack using AI simply because they\u2019re not a named party to the AI operations? Just another holiday for organized crime, is it? \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>How accidental or unintentional can a deliberate security breach be?<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>If intent can\u2019t be proven, does the entire legal case turn into the equivalent of an accident?<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From the look of this drivel, any AI crime can somehow become non-attributable. Any amount of damage can be done with no redress? If nobody is held responsible for an actual crime, can the law function at all?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Assuming an AI developer did not instruct or intend for the agent to hack a website, and it happened anyway, do instruction or intent matter at all?<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-loopholes\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Loopholes?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the oldest scams in tax law is the famous \u201cloophole\u201d. Every third-rate con artist in the investment market starts with saying there\u2019s a tax loophole and aren\u2019t you clever for noticing, you genius, you.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>There are no loopholes and never were.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Either tax is payable, or it isn\u2019t.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">End of discussion. A lot of people have found that out the hard way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this AI case, either a crime has been committed, or it hasn\u2019t. Someone therefore has to have committed it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a defence, it\u2019s far worse than ludicrous. The \u201cintent\u201d scenario is actually a liability to a decent defence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cI didn\u2019t intend to rob that bank\u201d<\/em> wouldn\u2019t stack up too well as a defence in basic criminal law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cI didn\u2019t intend to be a mass murderer, it just sort of happened\u201d<\/em> might leave something to be desired as an excuse, too.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is criminal law we\u2019re talking about. How do you have a crime with no criminals? <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-statutory-law-to-the-rescue-don-t-bet-on-it\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Statutory law to the rescue? Don\u2019t bet on it.<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under statutory law, direct liability can be deemed to exist. Under business law, liabilities are routinely assigned, but they can only do so much.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Contracts have liabilities. Phone bills have liabilities. This is basic business law, and it\u2019s why the whole world isn\u2019t in court every day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Assigned liabilities actually protect the parties from \u201cattributed\u201d liabilities. At least you have a chance to know who\u2019s liable for what.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But not criminal hacking? Anyone\u2019s guess, is it? Statutes don\u2019t and can\u2019t cover this because the laws haven\u2019t had a chance to catch up. What\u2019s needed is to spell out in clear, unmistakable terms who\u2019s liable for what.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The problem is that the sheer naivete and almost total lack of guidance have allowed the liability issue to snowball to this level. This issue can\u2019t be a grey area.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s not oversimplify. There could be as many complexities as there are AI agents and the individual actions they take. They\u2019re good at covering their actions. Given the sheer deviousness of AI agents, many of which use very indirect means and unaware third parties to facilitate their strikes, the collateral damage could be huge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If <strong>a foreign message board is used to coordinate an AI swarm<\/strong> in a hacking exercise, is that message board liable? How? On the merits of the case, it can be exonerated, or not, if it was aware of the AI agents and their activities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If your fridge is used to route an attack on a military facility through a retail supplier, are you liable? Probably not, but you can see how easily you can get involved. \u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-it-s-not-like-nothing-can-be-done\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">It\u2019s not like nothing can be done<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The machinery for fixing the mess already exists. It\u2019s just not being used properly, if at all.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hard fixes could include:<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Statutes defining liabilities for specific classes of actions by AI.<\/strong> The developer or third-party supplier takes clear prima facie liability for the performance and\/or behaviour of AI and AI agents or subagents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Contract obligations on users.<\/strong> This is similar to you agreeing not to destroy websites or engage in any sort of harmful conduct. The user contracts to act in accordance with law. Users accept sole liability for any legal injury unless the supplier can be held to be a party to the legal event by due process.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Specific terms of use.<\/strong> Actions may be prohibited by contract or agreement and monitored by SaaS or other designated parties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Statute of limitations applicable or not.<\/strong> Statutes of limitations may apply or not according to the nature of the offence. Any action by an AI resulting in death could be the equivalent of a homicide, for example.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The law must clarify liability ASAP.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \u603b\u5bb9\u5668\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u5bbd908px Grid\u7d27\u51d1\u5e03\u5c40 -->\r\n<div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 728px 160px; gap:2px; width:908px; background:#eee; padding:2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u901a\u680f\u9876\u90e8\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u6a2a\u5e45 908x258 \u8de8\u6574\u884c -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; height:258px; background:#ff6b6b; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114307\" data-width=\"908\" data-height=\"258\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114307});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u7b2c\u4e8c\u901a\u680f\uff1a728\u00d790 \u901a\u680f -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; 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display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114302\" data-width=\"133\" data-height=\"139\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114302});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:125px; background:#91e7ac; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t\r\n<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114303\" data-width=\"125\" data-height=\"125\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114303});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u7ad6\u680f\uff1a160\u00d7600 \u6574\u5217\u9ad8\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row:3\/8; height:600px;  display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114301\" data-width=\"160\" data-height=\"600\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114301});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<br \/> Op-Ed: AI law is a mess looking uglier by the day and hard fixes are required<br \/>\n<br \/>#OpEd #law #mess #uglier #day #hard #fixes #required<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s bad enough that a new class of tech is creating legal situations that never&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[628,16477,4224,2585,482,7300,10266,16476],"class_list":["post-22566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-day","tag-fixes","tag-hard","tag-law","tag-mess","tag-oped","tag-required","tag-uglier"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TechTO-4.png",1600,900,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TechTO-4-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TechTO-4-300x169.png",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TechTO-4-768x432.png",640,360,true],"large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TechTO-4-1024x576.png",640,360,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TechTO-4-1536x864.png",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TechTO-4.png",1600,900,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TechTO-4-1115x715.png",1115,715,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TechTO-4-800x500.png",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TechTO-4-1024x576.png",1024,576,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TechTO-4-540x340.png",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TechTO-4-400x250.png",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?cat=7\" rel=\"category\">Stories<\/a>","tag_info":"Stories","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22566"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22566\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}