AI-Run Companies Are Coming. Delaware Wants to Get Ahead of Them

Delaware officials, led by Secretary of State Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez and Norm Ai founder John Nay, are proposing a new "artificial intelligence company" (AIC) structure granting independent legal personhood, asset ownership, litigation rights and a liability shield for owners, with a 30-month sandbox that recently cleared a legislative subcommittee and could start as soon as next year. Supporters argue legal infrastructure for autonomous commerce is needed now, while critics such as Penn law professor David Hoffman call it "a solution in search of a problem" that outsources liability.