Product Liability Law in the Age of AI, Third Edition

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Product Liability Law in the Age of AI is the ideal casebook for a class on advanced torts delving into the doctrinal evolution of products liability and its numerous complexities, with extensive application to the liability issues involving artificial intelligence technologies.

Product Liability Law in the Age of AI, Third Edition, written by Mark Geistfeld, the widely recognized expert on the relation between tort law and emerging AI technologies, represents the “next generation” of casebooks on products liability. Although the title to this book has changed, this edition continues the developmental path staked out in the prior two editions with substantial revisions throughout (particularly the material addressing software). This book is clearly written and contains an expanded set of problems at the conclusion of most chapters, with each of the 51 problems laying out the necessary background material on the AI technology in question while illustrating how the doctrines and underlying principles of product liability law apply to important issues involving these developing technologies.

Earlier generations of casebooks focused on the relative merits of strict liability and negligence embodied in the apparently competing liability frameworks of the consumer expectations test in the Restatement (Second) of Torts and the risk-utility test in the Restatement (Third) of Torts. The majority of courts, however, have incorporated the risk-utility test into the framework of consumer expectations, resulting in a new liability regime—“strict products liability 2.0”—that often involves nuanced applications of risk-utility analysis formulated to fairly protect consumer expectations of safe product performance. In addition to teaching students how to comprehensively apply the risk-utility test across a surprisingly wide range of issues, the unique approach of this casebook also underscores the importance of doctrinal history, the psychology of evaluating product risks, and the role of products liability in the modern regulatory state. The casebook shows students how courts have applied established doctrines to novel problems ranging from the relevance of scientific evidence in toxic-tort cases to the distribution of defective products on the Amazon online marketplace and to the question whether social media platforms are products or services for purposes of tort law. To further illustrate this dynamic, most chapters in the casebook conclude with a set of problems addressing the liability issues likely to be raised by emerging AI technologies. Over the course of these 51 problems, students will gain a basic understanding of these automated technologies while learning how the doctrines and underlying principles of tort law can answer important questions that will largely shape the future of product liability law.

New to the Third Edition:

• Three new main cases addressing questions of liability for social media platforms and the Amazon marketplace.
• Dozens of new problems throughout the book providing students with the opportunity to review the material in the preceding chapters while introducing them to AI technologies and the related liability issues.
• Extensive revisions throughout to facilitate comprehension, update the caselaw where necessary, and motivate analyses of AI technologies.

Professors and students will benefit from:

• Classroom-tested materials taught for over 30 years by award-winning professor.
• Exceptional selection of interesting cases that fully illustrate both the traditional and contemporary character of products liability litigation. The cases are followed by extensive notes that further illustrate doctrinal issues while developing the associated analytical concepts with extended textual discussions rather than a series of unanswered head-scratching questions.
• Each of the chapters that address distinct doctrinal issues concludes with problems based on different types of AI technologies. The full set of 51 problems provides students with the necessary background for understanding the liability issues posed by this emerging technology. The problems are designed to give students the opportunity to review and further study important doctrines by applying them to an engaging issue. Each problem is followed by the author’s analysis of the associated issues, with cross-references to the relevant material in the casebook.