2026-04-10 –, Glatt (Y22-F-68/70)
Decentralized Physical AI systems—where autonomous agents interact with the physical world while relying on decentralized coordination layers—create legal frictions that traditional AI governance frameworks do not fully capture. This talk isolates two structural challenges. First, the lack of legal personality: in fully decentralized settings, it may be difficult to identify a legally recognized counterpart able to enter binding contracts, hold assets, or be sued. Second, the liability gap: as autonomy and decentralization increase, attribution of harm becomes harder, pushing legal systems toward “scapegoat” solutions (human-in-the-loop or proxy actors) not because they are operationally necessary, but because they are liable.
Building on EU liability discussions and the limits of “human-centric” approaches, the session proposes reframing decentralized AI as infrastructure rather than a firm-like actor. Under this perspective, risk management shifts from searching for an elusive developer/owner to a layered model combining ex-ante protocol authorization, mandatory insurance mechanisms, and public authorization labels to support trust and market discipline. The outcome is a concrete, regulatory blueprint aimed at reducing uncertainty without freezing innovation.
--What the session covers--
Decentralized Physical AI challenges core assumptions of private law and regulatory enforcement. When an autonomous system is coordinated through decentralized protocols, the legal system struggles with two foundational questions: who can validly contract and who should bear responsibility when harm occurs.
No legal personality, no counterpart
In several decentralized architectures, the “system” cannot easily be mapped onto an entity capable of contracting, owning assets, or being subject to court orders. This complicates procurement, deployment, service-level agreements, and even basic consumer-facing terms.The scapegoat problem and the black-box break
Even where causation is technologically traceable, autonomy may weaken the liability link with developers (black-box phenomenon). Decentralization can cut the legal link entirely: identifying the responsible party may be impossible—or systematically biased—leading to “scapegoat” arrangements (human-in-the-loop by design) primarily for liability allocation rather than safety.A different frame: decentralized AI as infrastructure
Instead of importing the firm-centered model into decentralized settings, the talk proposes treating decentralized AI as critical infrastructure. The regulatory response becomes less about inventing a new “AI legal person” and more about designing a risk governance stack.
Regulatory blueprint (three pillars)
-Code Authorization: ex-ante approval of core protocol algorithms, analogous to infrastructure safety standards.
-Insurance Mechanisms: mandatory, activity-funded insurance pools to mitigate damages and externalities.
-Authorization Labels: public certification signals that support user trust and informed adoption.
--Takeaways for the audience--
Participants will leave with:
-a legal taxonomy of where contract and liability doctrines fail for decentralized physical AI;
-practical implications for builders, deployers, and users;
-a policy-ready model to structure compliance, risk transfer, and trust in decentralized AI ecosystems.
Salvatore Luciano Furnari, PhD, is an Italian lawyer and chartered accountant focusing on EU financial regulation and digital finance. His work covers blockchain and crypto-assets, decentralized finance (DeFi), tokenization, and the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR), advising companies and financial market participants on regulatory strategy, governance, and contractual frameworks for Web3 and AI-adjacent projects. He is also active in research and public speaking on the legal implications of decentralized systems and emerging technologies. He has been recognized in Chambers & Partners’ FinTech rankings and regularly contributes to applied legal analysis bridging regulation, market practice, and technology.