Product Liability, Risk Regulation, and New Technologies
María Guadalupe Martínez Alles · Cambridge University Press eBooks · 2025
This chapter shows how the proposed approach to the place of punitive damages in product liability litigation illuminates debates over the consequential impact of the distinctive consumer expectations versus the risk–utility design defect liability tests, which are operative in the product liability context of many if not most legal systems. This is particularly relevant in the context of current global discussions over adopting or revising product liability laws to address the evolving risks to consumer safety posed by artificial intelligence. The extent to which product liability lawsuits and direct risk regulation interact as complementary legitimate avenues for fostering consumer safety is also brought up, primarily in the interest of stirring the conversations around product liability regimes that might be more responsive to the safety challenges posed by artificial intelligence and other new technologies in the marketplace.