Recent reports on advanced data analysis systems used to identify military targets have shifted "algorethics" from a philosophical concept to a legal priority.
"We are not merely facing a technological issue," explains Luca De Pauli. "Integrating AI into operational decisions aims for superhuman speed and precision, but it opens a chasm in modern law: the fragmentation of responsibility."
International and national laws are rooted in the certainty of a responsible subject. However, when an algorithm mediates a decision, that chain is broken. De Pauli emphasizes that since AI is not a legal person, it cannot be held liable. This creates a "responsibility vacuum"—a gray area where it becomes nearly impossible to distinguish whether the fault lies with the programmer, the entity deploying the system, or the human operator who validated the analysis.
The crisis of accountability is not confined to theaters of war. A similar pattern is emerging in healthcare, where AI increasingly supports diagnosis and treatment.
"If an algorithm suggests an incorrect diagnosis with grave consequences for a patient, the question returns with force: Is the physician, the software developer, or the healthcare facility liable?" asks De Pauli. "Technological progress is immense, but the protection of the individual requires absolute legal clarity."
While the EU Regulation 2024/1689 (AI Act) is now in force, De Pauli points out that the legislation focuses primarily on market safety. It leaves critical gaps regarding the delegation of decisions that directly impact fundamental human rights.
In a de jure condendo perspective (proposing what the law should be): ”The role of law is to ensure that innovation does not come at the expense of the Rule of Law," concludes De Pauli. "Even in the age of algorithms, every decision affecting human life must be traceable back to a clearly identifiable human responsibility."
Based in Udine, Italy, Studio Ponti DePauli Partners is a leading legal firm specializing in international law, corporate liability, and the emerging legal challenges of digital transformation and artificial intelligence.
