Product Liability and Duty of Care in the Age of Generative AI: Lessons from the Garcia Case and Taiwan Region’s Experience

Abstract

Artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, has rapidly become a transformative force in modern society, profoundly impacting the learning, social, and entertainment habits of minors. Proponents emphasize its potential for personalized education, enriching creativity, and providing new avenues for adolescent engagement. However, the same technology also presents a series of risks that challenge existing legal and ethical frameworks. The Megan Garcia v. Character Technologies, Inc. litigation, currently being heard in a Florida district court, is a landmark dispute that exemplifies these challenges. This paper focuses on analyzing three key issues raised by the Garcia case: (i) Legal Question: Whether an AI chatbot application can be classified as a “product” under U.S. product liability law; (ii) Psychological Impact: How adolescents interact with generative AI and the potential for harm; and (iii) Developer Duty: Whether developers have a duty of care to protect users, especially minors, from foreseeable risks. The court’s ruling in Garcia indicates that existing legal frameworks are flexible enough to address AI-related harms without needing entirely new legal theories. However, the case also underscores that current protections are often insufficient when AI systems generate content that exploits or misleads young users. This paper explores the implications of the Garcia case for adolescent rights protection in the age of generative AI and comparatively analyzes recent incidents in the Taiwan region and proposes a collaborative governance approach to address these emerging challenges.