When AI Signs the Contract: Eliza Mik on Automation, Autonomy, and Attribution

When an AI system executes a deal on its own, is that a valid contract, and whose contract is it?

This video explains Eliza Mik's 2020 paper, From Automation to Autonomy: Some Non-existent Problems in Contract Law. It focuses on her core claim that existing contract-law principles can already handle automated contracting without granting legal personhood to software or treating advanced systems as autonomous legal actors.

The video covers:

- Mik's distinction between the operator and the user

- why separation, agency, and anthropomorphization theories fail

- the three main arguments for attribution to the operator

- operator protection through existing doctrine, including apparent mistake and lack of contractual intention

- legislative confirmation from electronic-transactions frameworks

This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. You are responsible for how you use this information and should seek qualified advice for specific matters.

Source:

Eliza Mik, "From Automation to Autonomy: Some Non-existent Problems in Contract Law" (2020), SSRN Working Paper.

https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=3635346