,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bicg  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,september #bi1
 #bjbe ,mr4 ,durbin 7for himself and    
,mr4 ,hawley7 introduced the following  
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a 
,,bill  ,to establish legal standards   
for advanced artificial intelligence    
products4  #a4  ,short title2 table of  
contents  7a7  ,short title  ,this ,act 
may be cited as the ,aligning           
,incentives for ,leadership1            
,excellence1 and ,advancement in        
,development ,act or the ,,ai ,,lead    
,act4  7b7  ,table of contents  ,the    
table of contents for this ,act is as   
follows3 ,sec4 #a4 ,short title2 table  
of contents4 ,sec4 #b4 ,findings4 ,sec4 
#c4 ,definitions4 ,,title ,i--,aligning 
incentives for safety1 innovation and   
,united ,states competitiveness ,sec4   
#aja4 ,developer liability for harm to  
business or consumer4 ,sec4 #ajb4       
,deployer liability for harm to business

 or consumer4 ,,title                   
,,ii--,unconscionable liability         
limitations ,sec4 #bja4 ,unconscionable 
liability limitations4 ,,title          
,,iii--,enforcement ,sec4 #cja4 ,federal
 cause of action4 ,sec4 #cjb4 ,special  
rule for deployers4 ,sec4 #cjc4 ,period 
of limitations4 ,sec4 #cjd4 ,preemption4
 ,sec4 #cje4 ,severability4 ,,title     
,,iv--,registration of foreign          
artificial intelligence system providers
 ,sec4 #dja4 ,foreign agent registration
 requirement4 ,sec4 #djb4 ,enforcement4 
,sec4 #djc4 ,public registry4 ,,title   
,v--,effective date ,sec4 #eja4         
,effective date4  #b4 ,findings         
,congress finds the following3  7#a7    
,artificial intelligence systems are    
products that shift decision-making     
power and responsibility away from      
humans to software-based systems1 often 
without direct human oversight4  7#b7   
,these products1 while holding great    
promise1 have caused and will cause harm
 to businesses and individuals4 ,for    

example1 multiple teenagers have        
tragically died after being exploited by
 an artificial intelligence chatbot4    
7#c7 ,unpredictable allocations of      
liability jeopardize public safety and  
the financial well-being of both        
individuals and entire industries1      
particularly the small businesses of the
 ,united ,states1 and adversely affect  
the ,federal ,government and taxpayers4 
7#d7 ,product liability law can help to 
address harms caused by artificial      
intelligence systems that affect        
interstate commerce by incentivizing    
safety1 providing certainty to          
artificial intelligence developers and  
deployers to continue to innovate1 and  
ensuring the competitiveness of the     
,united ,states4  7#e7 ,a ,federal      
products liability framework for        
artificial intelligence systems will    
remove barriers to interstate commerce  
and protect individuals' due process    
rights4  7#f7 ,this ,act establishes    
,federal legislative guidelines for     

products liability without implicating  
expressive speech to ensure more        
predictable legal outcomes for          
individuals and industries and promotes 
business innovation4  #c4  ,definitions 
,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,artificial         
intelligence system  7,a7 ,in general   
,the term artificial intelligence system
 means any software1 data system1       
application1 tool1 or utility--  7i7    
that is capable of making or            
facilitating predictions1               
recommendations1 actions1 or decisions  
for a given set of human-or             
machine-defined objectives2 and  7ii7   
that uses machine learning algorithms1  
statistical or symbolic models1 or other
 algorithmic or computational methods   
7whether dynamic or static7 that affect 
or facilitate actions or decision-making
 in real or virtual environments4  7,b7 
,inclusion  ,an artificial intelligence 
system may be integrated into1 or       
operate in conjunction with1 other      
hardware or software4  7#b7  ,claimant  

,the term claimant means any person1    
including a class of persons1 who brings
 a liability action4  7#c7  ,covered    
product  ,the term covered product means
 an artificial intelligence system4     
7#d7  ,deployer  ,the term deployer     
means a person1 including a developer1  
who uses or operates a covered product  
for--  7,a7 the person's own personal or
 commercial use2 or  7,b7 use by a third
 party4  7#e7 ,design ,the term design1 
with respect to a covered product--     
7,a7 means the intended or known        
material characteristics of the covered 
product2 and  7,b7 includes-- 7i7 any   
intended or known formulation of the    
covered product and the usual result of 
the intended development or other       
processes used to produce the covered   
product1 including unexpected skills or 
behaviors that appear in the covered    
product2  7ii7 the selection of any data
 used for training a covered product    
through fitting its learnable           
parameters2 and  7iii7 training1        

testing1 auditing1 and fine-tuning the  
covered product4  7#f7  ,developer  ,the
 term developer means a person who      
designs1 codes1 produces1 owns1 or      
substantially modifies a covered product
 for--  7,a7 the person's own personal  
or commercial use2 or  7,b7 use by a    
third party4  7#g7 ,express warranty    
,the term express warranty means any    
material1 positive statement1           
affirmation of fact1 promise1 or        
description relating to a covered       
product1 including any sample or model  
of a covered product4  7#h7  ,harm  ,the
 term harm means1 with respect to the   
effect of the use of a covered product--
  7,a7 damage to property other than the
 covered product itself2  7,b7 personal 
physical injury1 illness1 or death2     
7,c7 financial or reputational injury2  
7,d7 mental or psychological anguish1   
emotional distress1 or distortion of a  
person's behavior that would be highly  
offensive to a reasonable person2 or    
7,e7 any loss of consortium or services 

or other loss deriving from any type of 
harm described in subparagraph 7,a71    
7,b71 7,c71 or 7,d74  7#i7  ,liability  
action  ,the term liability action means
 a civil action brought under section   
#cja based on any theory for harm caused
 by a covered product or covered product
 use4  7#aj7  ,person  ,the person means
 any individual1 corporation1 company1  
association1 firm1 partnership1 society1
 joint stock company1 or other entity1  
including any government entity or      
unincorporated association of persons4  
7#aa7  ,substantial modification  ,the  
term substantial modification1 with     
respect to a covered product--  7,a7    
means any deliberate change made to the 
covered product by a deployer that--    
7i7 was not authorized or reasonably    
anticipated by the developer when the   
covered product left the control of the 
developer2 and  7ii7 changes the        
purpose1 use1 function1 design1 or      
intended use or manner of use of the    
covered product from that for which the 

covered product was originally designed1
 tested1 or intended2 and  7,b7 does not
 include a modification that solely     
reduces or mitigates a new or additional
 risk4  7#ab7  ,under a legal disability
  ,the term under a legal disability1   
with respect to a person1 means the     
person lacks the capacity to understand1
 make1 or communicate decisions         
regarding the person's legal rights--   
7,a7 because of a mental illness or     
intellectual disability2 or  7,b7       
because the person is under the age of  
#ah4  ,i  ,aligning incentives for      
safety1 innovation and ,united ,states  
competitiveness  #aja4  ,developer      
liability for harm to business or       
consumer  7a7  ,in general  ,in any     
liability action1 the developer shall be
 liable to a claimant if the claimant   
establishes by a preponderance of the   
evidence--  7#a7 that-- 7,a7 the        
developer failed to exercise reasonable 
care with respect to the design of the  
covered product2 and  7,b7 the failure  

to exercise reasonable care was a       
proximate cause of harm to the claimant2
  7#b7 that-- 7,a7 the developer failed 
to exercise reasonable care with respect
 to providing adequate instructions or  
warnings applicable to the covered      
product that allegedly caused the harm  
that is the subject of the complaint2   
and  7,b7 the failure to exercise       
reasonable care with respect to         
providing adequate instructions or      
warnings was a proximate cause of harm  
to the claimant2  7#c7 that-- 7,a7 the  
developer made an express warranty      
applicable to the covered product that  
allegedly caused the harm that is the   
subject of the complaint2  7,b7 the     
covered product failed to conform to the
 warranty2 and  7,c7 the failure of the 
covered product to conform to the       
warranty was a proximate cause of harm  
to the claimant2 or  7#d7 that-- 7,a7   
the covered product was1 at the time of 
sale or distribution1 in a defective    
condition unreasonably dangerous when   

used or misused in a reasonably         
foreseeable manner2 and  7,b7 the       
defective condition was a proximate     
cause of the harm to the claimant4  7b7 
,defective design  7#a7  ,in general    
,in any liability action against a      
developer alleging that a covered       
product is unreasonably dangerous       
because of a defective design1 as       
described in subsection 7a77#a71 the    
claimant shall be required to prove     
that1 at the time of sale or            
distribution of the covered product by  
the developer1 the foreseeable risks of 
harm posed by the covered product could 
have been reduced or avoided by the     
adoption of a reasonable alternative    
design by the developer1 and the        
omission of the alternative design      
renders the covered product not         
reasonably safe4  7#b7  ,manifestly     
unreasonable design  ,notwithstanding   
paragraph 7#a71 in a liability action   
described in that paragraph1 if the     
design of a covered product is found to 

be manifestly unreasonable1 a claimant  
shall not be required to prove the      
existence of a reasonable alternative   
design4  7#c7  ,circumstantial evidence 
supporting inference of covered product 
defect  ,in a liability action described
 in subsection 7a77#a71 it may be       
inferred that the harm sustained by the 
claimant was caused by a covered product
 defect existing at the time of sale or 
distribution1 without proof of a        
specific defect1 when the incident that 
harmed the claimant--  7,a7 was of a    
kind that ordinarily occurs as a result 
of covered product defect2 and  7,b7 was
 not1 in the particular case1 solely the
 result of causes other than covered    
product defect existing at the time of  
sale or distribution4  7#d7             
,noncompliance and compliance with      
required covered product safety statutes
 or regulations  7,a7  ,noncompliance   
,for purposes of a liability action     
described in subsection 7a77#a71 if a   
covered product does not comply with an 

applicable covered product safety       
statute or administrative regulation1   
the covered product shall be deemed     
defective with respect to the risks     
sought to be reduced by the statute or  
regulation4  7,b7  ,compliance  ,for    
purposes of a liability action described
 in subsection 7a77#a71 the court may   
consider a covered product's compliance 
with an applicable covered product      
safety statute or administrative        
regulation in determining whether the   
covered product is defective with       
respect to the risks sought to be       
reduced by the statute or regulation1   
but such compliance does not preclude as
 a matter of law a finding of covered   
product defect4  7c7  ,failure to warn  
7#a7  ,in general  ,for purposes of a   
liability action described in subsection
 7a77#b71 a covered product shall be    
considered defective because of         
inadequate instructions or warnings if--
  7,a7 the foreseeable risks of harm    
posed by the covered product could have 

been reduced or avoided by the provision
 of reasonable instructions or warnings 
by the developer2 and  7,b7 the omission
 of the instructions or warnings renders
 the covered product not reasonably     
safe4  7#b7  ,adequate instruction or   
warning  ,for purposes of paragraph     
7#a71 an adequate instruction or warning
 is one that a reasonably prudent person
 in the same or similar circumstances   
would have provided with respect to a   
reasonably foreseeable risk and that    
communicates sufficient information on  
the reasonably foreseeable risks and    
safe use of the covered product1 taking 
into account the characteristics of1 and
 the ordinary knowledge common to1 an   
ordinary user of the covered product4   
7#c7  ,knowledge  ,in a liability action
 described in subsection 7a77#b71 the   
claimant shall be required to prove     
that1 at the time the covered product   
left the developer's control1 the       
developer knew of or1 in light of       
then-existing scientific and technical  

knowledge1 reasonably should have       
foreseen1 the risk that caused the      
claimant's harm4  7#d7  ,open and       
obvious  7,a7  ,in general  ,in a       
liability action described in subsection
 7a77#b71 a developer shall not be      
liable for failure to instruct or warn  
about a foreseeable risk that is open   
and obvious to the user of the covered  
product1 taking into account the        
characteristics of1 and the ordinary    
knowledge common to1 an ordinary user of
 the covered product4  7,b7  ,minors    
,for purposes of subparagraph 7,a71 a   
risk shall be presumed to not be open   
and obvious to a user of a covered      
product who is under #ah years old4     
7#e7  ,noncompliance and compliance with
 required covered product safety        
statutes or regulations  7,a7           
,noncompliance  ,in a liability action  
described in subsection 7a77#b71 if a   
covered product does not comply with an 
applicable covered product safety       
statute or administrative regulation1   

the covered product shall be deemed     
defective due to inadequate instructions
 or warnings with respect to the risks  
sought to be reduced by the statute or  
regulation4  7,b7  ,compliance  ,in a   
liability action described in subsection
 7a77#b71 the court may consider a      
covered product's compliance with an    
applicable covered product safety       
statute or administrative regulation in 
determining whether the covered product 
is defective due to inadequate          
instructions or warnings with respect to
 the risks sought to be reduced by the  
statute or regulation1 but such         
compliance does not preclude as a matter
 of law a finding of covered product    
defect4  7d7  ,strict liability of      
developer for unreasonably dangerous or 
defective covered products  7#a7  ,in   
general  ,in a liability action         
described in subsection 7a77#d71 the    
developer of a covered product shall be 
strictly liable for harm caused by the  
defective condition of the covered      

product1 notwithstanding--  7,a7 that   
the developer exercised all possible    
care in the design or distribution of   
the covered product2 or  7,b7 that the  
claimant did not purchase the covered   
product directly from the developer or  
otherwise enter into a contractual      
relationship with the developer4  7#b7  
,substantial modification  ,a developer 
shall not be liable under subsection    
7a77#d7 for harm solely caused by a     
substantial modification4  #ajb4        
,deployer liability for harm to business
 or consumer  7a7  ,in general  ,a      
deployer shall be deemed to be liable as
 a developer under section #aja for harm
 caused by a covered product if--  7#a7 
the deployer makes a substantial        
modification to the covered product2 or 
7#b7 the deployer intentionally misuses 
the covered product contrary to its     
intended use and that misuse is the     
proximate cause of harm to the claimant4
  7b7  ,use intended by developer is not
 modification or misuse  7#a7  ,in      

general  ,for purposes of subsection    
7a71 a use of a covered product that is 
intended by the developer of the covered
 product does not constitute a          
substantial modification to or misuse of
 the covered product4  7#b7  ,inference 
of intended use  ,for purposes of       
paragraph 7#a71 if a developer does not 
specify an intended use for a covered   
product1 intended use shall be inferred 
by the targeted market and manner of    
distribution4  7c7  ,licensing  ,subject
 to section #cjb1 any deployer licensing
 a covered product shall not be liable  
to a claimant for a violation of section
 #aja solely by reason of ownership or  
use of the covered product4  ,,ii       
,unconscionable liability limitations   
#bja4  ,unconscionable liability        
limitations  7a7  ,contract with        
deployer  7#a7  ,prohibition  ,a        
developer may not include language in a 
contract with a deployer that waives any
 right1 proscribes any forum or         
procedure1 or unreasonably limits       

liability under this ,act or applicable 
,state law related to harm caused by the
 covered product under section #aja4    
7#b7  ,unenforceable  ,language in a    
contract that violates paragraph 7#a7   
shall be unenforceable4  7b7  ,terms and
 conditions  7#a7  ,prohibition  ,a     
developer or a deployer may not include 
language in terms and conditions        
relevant to a covered product that      
waives any right1 proscribes any forum  
or procedure1 or unreasonably limits    
liability under this ,act or applicable 
,state law related to harm caused by the
 covered product under section #aja or  
#ajb4  7#b7  ,unenforceable  ,language  
in terms and conditions that violates   
paragraph 7#a7 shall be unenforceable4  
,,iii  ,enforcement  #cja4  ,federal    
cause of action  ,the ,attorney         
,general1 any attorney general of a     
,state1 an individual or the legal      
representative of such an individual1 or
 a class of individuals may bring a     
civil action in a district court of the 

,united ,states against a developer or  
deployer for a violation of section     
#aja1 #ajb1 or #bja to obtain--  7#a7   
injunctive relief2  7#b7 in a case      
brought by the ,attorney ,general1 civil
 penalties2  7#c7 damages1 restitution1 
or other compensation on behalf of      
individuals2  7#d7 reasonable attorney  
fees and other litigation costs         
reasonably incurred2 or  7#e7 in a case 
brought by the ,attorney ,general or a  
,state attorney general1 such other     
relief as the ,attorney ,general or     
,state attorney general may consider to 
be appropriate4  #cjb4  ,special rule   
for deployers  7a7  ,standing in for the
 developer  ,if the developer is not a  
party to a liability action because the 
developer is not subject to the court's 
jurisdiction1 is insolvent1 or cannot   
otherwise be made to answer for the     
harm1 the deployer may be held liable to
 the same extent that the developer     
would have been liable under section    
#aja4  7b7  ,dismissal of deployer  ,a  

court shall dismiss the deployer from a 
liability action1 upon motion1 if--     
7#a7 the developer-- 7,a7 is a party to 
the action2 and  7,b7 is subject to the 
court's jurisdiction2  7#b7 the         
developer is not insolvent or otherwise 
unable to satisfy any likely judgment2  
and  7#c7 the deployer is not otherwise 
liable under section #ajb4  7c7 ,joint  
fault  7#a7 ,in general ,if both the    
developer and the deployer contributed  
to the harm under sections #aja and     
#ajb1 each person may be held jointly   
and severally liable for the portion of 
harm caused by that person's conduct4   
7#b7  ,rule of construction  ,nothing in
 this subsection shall limit the right  
of a claimant to maintain a liability   
action against the developer1 the       
deployer1 or both1 if the claimant can  
establish that each person contributed  
to the harm under sections #aja and     
#ajb4  7d7  ,indemnification and        
attorney fees  7#a7  ,right to seek     
indemnification  ,a deployer that is    

held liable for harm caused by the      
developer under subsection 7a7 may      
pursue indemnification1 including the   
recovery of attorney fees and litigation
 costs1 from the developer4  7#b7       
,limitation  ,if the deployer is        
determined to be at fault for a portion 
of the harm under subsection 7c71       
indemnification under paragraph 7#a7 of 
this subsection shall be limited to the 
portion of damages1 fees1 or costs      
attributable to the conduct of the      
developer4  7e7  ,preservation of       
claimant's rights  ,nothing in this     
subsection shall limit the right of the 
claimant to maintain a liability action 
against the developer1 the deployer1 or 
both persons1 if the claimant can       
establish that each person contributed  
to the harm under sections #aja and     
#ajb4  #cjc4  ,period of limitations    
7a7  ,in general  ,except as provided in
 subsection 7b71 a liability action may 
be filed not later than #d years after  
the date on which the claimant          

discovered or1 in the exercise of       
reasonable care1 should have            
discovered--  7#a7 the harm that is the 
subject of the action2 and  7#b7 the    
cause of the harm4  7b7  ,legal         
disability  ,in the case of a person who
 is under a legal disability1 the period
 of limitations under subsection 7a7 for
 a liability action brought by that     
person shall be tolled until the person 
ceases to be under a legal disability4  
7c7  ,tolling  ,the period of           
limitations under subsection 7a7 shall  
be tolled from the date of the filing of
 a complaint against a developer or     
deployer to the date that a court enters
 a final judgment in the case4  #cjd4   
,preemption  7a7  ,in general  ,this    
,act supersedes ,state law only where   
,state law conflicts with the provisions
 of this ,act4  7b7  ,minimum           
protections  ,nothing in this ,act shall
 prevent a ,state from enacting or      
enforcing protections that align with   
the principles of harm prevention1      

accountability1 and transparency for a  
covered product that are stronger than  
such protections under this ,act4  #cje4
  ,severability  ,if any provision of   
this ,act1 or an amendment made by this 
,act1 is determined to be unenforceable 
or invalid1 the remaining provisions of 
this ,act and amendments made by this   
,act shall not be affected4  ,,iv       
,registration of foreign artificial     
intelligence system developers  #dja4   
,foreign agent registration requirement 
7a7  ,designation required  ,before     
making a covered product available in   
the ,united ,states1 a foreign developer
 shall designate an agent for service of
 process4  7b7  ,requirements  ,the     
designation of an agent under subsection
 7a7 shall-- 7#a7 be in writing and     
submitted to the ,attorney ,general2    
7#b7 include a written acceptance by the
 agent2 and  7#c7 specify the full legal
 name and address of both the foreign   
developer and the agent4  7c7  ,agent   
qualifications  ,a designated agent     

under subsection 7a7 shall be a         
permanent resident of the ,united       
,states4  7d7  ,updates  ,a foreign     
developer of a covered product shall    
notify the ,attorney ,general of any    
change to the designated agent under    
subsection 7a7 or the contact           
information thereof not later than #ae  
days after the change4  #djb4           
,enforcement  7a7  ,prohibition  ,a     
foreign developer of a covered product  
that fails to designate an agent in     
accordance with section #dja may not    
deploy any covered product in the       
,united ,states4  7b7  ,enforcement     
,the ,attorney ,general may seek        
injunctive relief to prevent a violation
 of subsection 7a74  #djc4  ,public     
registry  ,the ,attorney ,general shall 
maintain a publicly accessible registry 
of designated agents of foreign         
developers of covered products4  ,v     
,effective date  #eja4  ,effective date 
,this ,act shall apply with respect to  
any liability action commenced on or    

after the date of enactment of this ,act
 without regard to whether the harm that
 is the subject of the liability action 
or the conduct that caused the harm     
occurred before that date of enactment4