Thread

1. voidUpdate · 1790067869 · focus · HN ↗

   If a contract is automatically signed by an agent on your behalf, is it legally binding?

   1. GJim · 1790070642 · focus · HN ↗

      It absolutely is legally binding in Blighty.

      If you authorised an agent to act on your behalf, you are entirely responsible for their actions providing they acted within the bounds of authority you gave them.

      Regardless, OPs software (his AI agent) isn't a legal entity and OP is entirely responsible for the software he chooses to use. Clamming the software is responsible for his actions (a software bug) isn't going to stand up in court. Whilst OP could claim damages for being provided with faulty software I suspect this will be very difficult to say the least; the authors of the AI agent will make the (very good) defence that their software was used incorrectly.

      1. user43928 · 1790074792 · focus · HN ↗

         I'm not a legal expert, but:

         Isn't the question whether there was an act of contractual assent attributable to the user for this transaction?

         I don't see why we would jump from the AI agent not being a legal entity to the conclusion that the user is responsible for its actions, or that the action is attributable to the user.

         If there was a conventional software error, the software not being a legal entity doesn't mean that an offer the software incorrectly sends must be treated as coming directly from the user.

         And in particular that seems unlikely to me in a situation where the user has set up the system without any intended authorization to enter contracts at all.

         1. [deleted] · 1790109633 · focus · HN ↗

            [deleted]

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