I. Introduction

Artificial intelligence (“AI”) has become integrated into the day-to-day operations of various industries, and companies now use AI to make or influence decisions that can directly impact people, businesses, and property. But can traditional product-liability law support a viable cause of action when an AI-driven system, such as one implemented in insurance claims handling or underwriting, causes injury or damage? This article considers whether strict liability principles, which were historically applied to tangible goods, can extend to complex AI systems – and specifically, how they might apply to AI systems deployed by insurance companies.

In several pending lawsuits involving AI chatbots, plaintiffs allege that conversational AI systems designed to mimic human interaction contributed to the deaths of minors who formed emotional attachments to the programs. The claims assert that the chatbots’ design and operation made such harm foreseeable, and the systems should therefore be treated as defective products. These cases present a meaningful attempt to apply product liability doctrine to AI-driven systems, forcing courts to confront whether software of this nature can be con

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