Designing a European Liability Regime for AI. Questions and Challenges in the Aftermath of the AI Act

The aim of this article is to offer a general assessment of the proposed rules and to outline their potential impact in two Member States, Germany and Italy, which differ significantly in their foundations for liability. In the absence of a final text, the contribution will focus on the legislative technique rather than on the specific provisions of the AILD and try to assess if the regulatory strategy of the Commission is suitable for achieving the above-mentioned objectives. The essay will first present the essential features of the AILD and its relationship with other European rules, in particular the ones encompassed in the AI Act and in the Product Liability Directive («PLD»), along with an outline of the main points of contention. Building on this basis, it will focus on comparing the applicable frameworks in German and Italian law that could potentially apply to AI. This analysis will provide an opportunity to formulate an initial, necessarily provisional, evaluation of the potential impact of the new European rules and its effectiveness within the context of emerging technologies.