“CRIMINAL LIABILITY FOR AI SYSTEMS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE UNITED STATES, EUROPEAN UNION, AND INDIA”

AUTHOR – JYOTIKA MAURYA* & DR. LAKSHMI PRIYA VINJAMURI**

* LAW STUDENT, LAW COLLEGE DEHRADUN, UTTARANCHAL UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN

** PROFESSOR AT LAW COLLEGE DEHRADUN, UTTARANCHAL UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN

BEST CITATION – JYOTIKA MAURYA & DR. LAKSHMI PRIYA VINJAMURI, “CRIMINAL LIABILITY FOR AI SYSTEMS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE UNITED STATES, EUROPEAN UNION, AND INDIA”, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (6) OF 2026, PG. 699-705, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

Abstract

The high rate of adopting artificial intelligence (AI) in the daily routine has created sophisticated legal issues, especially in the area of criminal responsibility. Conventional criminal law paradigms, which have been established on the concept of actus reus and mens rea, have challenges in accommodating autonomous systems, which can make independent decisions. The paper will analyse the problem of criminal responsibility of AI systems by comparing the United States, the European Union and India. It assesses the response of various jurisdictions to questions of attribution, accountability and responsibility in the event of harm caused by AI-powered technologies like chatbots and autonomous robots. The United States still heavily depends on product liability and negligence based on the doctrines, but the European Union is shifting towards a regulatory system based on risk-based responsibility. India, on the contrary, is still a developing country of law in this area. The paper identifies weaknesses in the current legislation and indicates the necessity to have a globally responsive and consistent liability system.