AI cannot bear liability for losing trades, responsibility follows delegation: Brickken CEO

AI agents have started executing trades and moving funds without constant human approval, prompting Brickken CEO Edwin Mata to argue that liability must follow the authority granted to the software rather than attach to the AI itself. Summary AI agents cannot assume legal duties because current law does not recognize them as legal persons. Mata said principals normally bear the outcome when agents act within an authorized mandate. ERC-8226 proposes time limits, financial caps, revocation controls, and verifiable records for AI agents. U.S. securities rules already require broker-dealers to control automated systems that access regulated markets. Sandmark reported on Aug. 6 that existing laws provide no single answer for losses caused by autonomous financial agents, leaving courts to examine the user, developer, platform, and institution involved in each transaction. The report said contract law, negligence rules, product liability, and fiduciary duties could all apply, depending on who controlled the agent and what caused the loss. A user may bear the result of an authorized trade, while a developer or platform could face claims if faulty design, weak safeguards, or corrupted infor...