The Ghost in the Machine: A Comparative Critique of AI ‘Legal Personhood’ and Liability Attribution in Autonomous Vehicle Torts (EU vs. US)

Abstract

This article critiques the viability of granting legal personhood to Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the context of SAE Level 4/5 Autonomous Vehicle (AV) liability. By contrasting the European Union’s 2024 Revised Product Liability Directive—which cements a strict liability "product" approach following the 2025 withdrawal of the specialized AI Liability Directive—with the United States’ emerging reliance on mass tort litigation (e.g., the 2025 LoSavio certification), it argues that "electronic personhood" is a legally redundant fiction. Instead, the article proposes a "functional entity" model that harmonizes the US "enterprise risk" doctrine with the EU’s "presumption of defectiveness," ensuring victims are compensated without anthropomorphizing code.