The hot new category of products that uses software and the Internet is referred to as the Internet of Things IoT. This is the network of physical devices, vehicles, appliances and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators and connectivity that enables them to connect and exchange data. There are four broad categories of consumer goods and services that rely on IoT technologies.
They are wearables, smart home devices and applications, toys and childcare equipment, and connected automobiles. While the same kinds of products and parties are involved as with software, these products create more difficult issues since they rely on Internet connectivity, greater connections between multiple products, and are subject to hacking.
As with software, there will be difficulties in assessing liability among the various parties involved in the development, manufacture and use of such products. Risk assessments that should be performed by any manufacturer of such products must be broadened to also consider the additional risks that may arise from these issues. The U. Developed on the foundation of seven guiding tenets, the ISTA harmonizes dozens of industry and governmental efforts focusing on forty-five principles, which provide prescriptive guidance to increase the trustworthiness of connected devices.
These problems do not appear to have created significant issues, probably because not many people are printing safety critical parts with these printers. But the other reason is that there are a variety of other entities to blame. The printer just prints what the software tells it to print. The programmer for the software could have created the problem. Other potentially culpable parties include the software installer, the printer installer, the company that designed the part and inputted that into the software, the person that ran the printer and the OEM that installed the component part.
Proving who was at fault would be very difficult given the mass of evidence and multiple complex interactions between various parties. And if the employer created the problem because of incorrect installation, programming, training or operation by employees, then it is even more complex since, in most situations, the employer cannot be sued in product liability.
We have all read about autonomous vehicles and wondered who would be responsible for an accident in which the software malfunctioned. Again, the law discussed above would apply, but involves another scenario that is difficult to prove. The Toyota unintended acceleration cases illustrate the difficulty that courts and juries have had in determining liability between the hardware i.
The Oxford Living Dictionary defines artificial intelligence as follows:. As with software in general and in all its uses, the more people rely on computers and software to do things, perform tasks and help make decisions, the more problems can arise if something goes wrong. And the complexity of the products and the number of people involved make it imperative that each entity in the supply chain of such products develops best practices in risk assessment and analysis, and be able to predict problems with its products and with other products that will work in conjunction with their products.
Much work must be done in this area to be sure that it is appropriate for a computer system to control certain activities. Sometimes, manufacturers will decide that the function to be controlled is too critical to rely on, and therefore is not something that should be controlled by such a system.
And then decisions must be made as to what extra precautions need to be undertaken to feel comfortable that the risk that remains is acceptable to the manufacturer and others in the supply chain, as well as product users.
Consumer groups, the government, industry, academia and lawyers will be considering how best to do these things. Whatever happens, it is clear that basic product liability law will apply, and someone will be responsible for injury, damage or loss arising from a defect in the product or any of its components.
Product liability law has been in existence for hundreds of years. But in the last 55 years, it has grown and flourished. Technological advances have been occurring for almost the entire time and have evolved to accommodate new and more complex products and uses.
As a general matter, technology develops much faster than the law. And therefore, manufacturers and others who are involved in such developments must guess about where the law is going and where it will wind up. It is almost certain that the law will evolve in a way that will result in injured parties continuing to have the ability to find someone to sue and to compensate them for their injuries.
There certainly is a bias in favor of providing a remedy, even if it is difficult to determine who the responsible party will be. Balancing these competing interests will be challenging and interesting to follow. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Home Design. Negligence and Strict Liability Product liability is the liability of someone in the chain of production or chain of distribution for personal injury, property damage or economic loss arising out of the purchase and use of a product.
Defects Product liability focuses on defects in products that exist at the time of sale. Design Defects With manufacturing flaws, usually there are only a handful of products that have the problem. Warnings and Instructions The third main kind of defect involves inadequacies in warnings and instructions.
Liability of Supply Chain The law of product liability applies to every entity in the chain of production and distribution. Contracts The problems that can arise involve injury, damage or economic loss to product users, and liability can be imposed on anyone in the supply chain.
Software bugs are erroneous instructions and, when computers encounter them, they do precisely what the defects instruct. An error could cause a 0 to be read as a 1, an up control to be shut down, or, as with the radiation machine, a shield to be removed instead of inserted.
A software error could mean life or death. Software Engineering Institute. Anthony Smoker - the ifatca perspective on the future of atm. Roger Sethsson - insurance perspective on automation and innovation in aviation. Related Books Free with a 30 day trial from Scribd. Uncommon Carriers John McPhee.
The Art of War Sun Tsu. Related Audiobooks Free with a 30 day trial from Scribd. Elizabeth Howell. Siddiqa Awan. Abdullah Iftikhar. Views Total views. Actions Shares. No notes for slide. Software liability 1. Forcing manufacturers to pay for personal injuries created by software defects will encourage them to be more careful. By placing the computer software on the market, the computer software manufacturer should be forced to assume liability for any injury caused by the computer software which was unreasonably dangerous 5.
In balancing the need versus the harm, it is crucial to look at the costs and risk of damage had the computer program not been used, and if there are other efficient and safe methods of carrying out the same function. If computer software manufacturers were to face strict liability for defects in computer software which they did not know about and could not prevent, many manufacturers would discontinue "cutting edge" ventures 6.
Manufacturing defects vs. Is there a user's contributory negligence? Three software liability policies has been investigated in relation to security : 2.
Maybe, the level of care that would be expected from a human being executing the same task delegated to the autonomous system. It creates incentives to prevent damages taking care preventive measures to reduce risk 6. It would further risk or loss spreading 7.
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