Legal and AI meanings of "agent" diverge over accountability for machines

The post contrasts AI agents, systems that perceive, plan, and act, with legal agents who receive authority and assume fiduciary duties and accountability.

Mark Nitzberg of Berkeley AI Research says closing this gap requires AI that is well-founded, legible, and steerable, while Lan Xue of Tsinghua notes that because machines cannot be punished, responsibility must be redistributed across design, development, deployment, and use.