Expert Systems: A Question of Liability?

Mykytyn, Kathleen; Mykytyn, Peter P.; Slinkman, Craig W.

doi:10.2307/249305

Cited by 25 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…This paper extends prior studies on the legal implications of expert systems by taking the general discussion in the literature (Mykytyn et al, 1990;Specht et al, 1990) and providing a detailed explanation of a specific potential 192 application within one profession-the audit profession. It should be noted, however, that the application discussed here is of equal import to many other professions such as engineering, medicine, and financial services.…”

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confidence: 62%

“…This paper examines one of the possible explanations for the slow integration of advanced expert systems into the audit practice environment-the potential for litigation. The importance of examining prospects for litigation prior to developing new applications was noted by Mykytyn et al (1990). They also note that among the many legal risks that evolve from expert systems development are risks that users will be unaware of system limitations and the liability that may be incurred simply by not using the system.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…From the multiple liability issues raised by Mykytyn et al (1990) and Specht et al (1990), it is posited that the primary liability threats evolving from advanced expert systems are: (1) the risk that the collaborative judgment of an auditor and an audit expert system will fail to perform at an appropriate level of expertise and (2) the risk of an unused expert system being raised in a court of law against that auditor to establish the level of expertise a reasonably prudent auditor would use in performing an audit under same or similar circumstances. Each of these issues is examined and evaluated for its potential effect on overall auditor legal liability.…”

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confidence: 99%

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An Analysis of Potential Legal Liability Incurred Through Audit Expert Systems

Sutton

Young

McKenzie

1995

Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance and Management

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The introduction of expert systems technology into the audit environment has opened a new avenue of auditor legal liability. This paper examines the potential impact expert systems will have on auditor liability. The presentation of this new avenue of auditors' legal liability explores both the potential for litigation under failure of auditor/expert system collaboration to yield prudent decisions and the failure to use an available expert system. The risks evolving from failure to use an available expert system include the possibility that the system could be used against the auditor in the courtroom. While case law will ultimately determine the bounds of this liability, this paper acquaints the reader with the important legal issues involved and the varied outcomes that could emerge. It should also be noted that while the specific example presented in this paper relates to the audit profession, the legal concepts are of equivalent concern to other professions enduring broad implementation of expert systems.

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confidence: 62%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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An Analysis of Potential Legal Liability Incurred Through Audit Expert Systems

Sutton

Young

McKenzie

1995

Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance and Management

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“…This supports the view that we have two basic components to a formal specification; the lIn simple terms, a tort is "a wrongful injury to a person.a person'sreputation. or a person'sproperty" (Mykytyn et al, 1990). problem specification and the solution specification (Batarekh et al, 1991). If we can extend formal specification techniques to all aspects of knowledge-based systems, this may help us to ensure against claims on grounds of breach of contract and of negligence.…”

Section: The Need For a Formal Specificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formal Specifications and Medical Decision Support Systems

Krause

Glowinski

1993

Applied Artificial Intelligence

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The techniques offormal specification and refinement of specifications into implementations are beginning to have an impact on the development of computer software. The ideal of software engineering is that programs may be proved correct with respect to their specifications. In principle, this is achievable for many applications. However, techniques for the specification and development ofAI applications are not so well defined at present. Part ofthe problem is that it is not always clear what should be specified. Motivated by an informal legal liability study, we present a requirements analysis of the aspects that should be covered by the formal specification. The discussion is focused on the specification ofa medical decision support system, but the arguments are generally valid. In particular, we will argue that it is especially important to take a more holistic approach and consider the specification of both the system and its environment.

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“…IEEE standard 1420.1b (withdrawn) broadly defines liability as "the state of being responsible or answerable under a legal obligation" [1]. Product liability can be defined as "the legal liability of manufacturers and sellers to compensate buyers, users, and even bystanders for damages or injuries suffered because of defects in goods purchased" [2]. There can be intentional liability (requiring an intentional act that is reasonably foreseeable to cause harm) and strict liability (requiring no intent and no negligent act).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%