AI and the question of responsibility

An old category, a new object

Classical fiqh distinguishes the act, the actor and the instrument, and assigns liability accordingly. A machine that selects its own action does not fit cleanly into any of the three.

Where the work is happening

Contemporary fatwa councils have begun treating autonomous systems under the rules of the ma'mur — the commanded agent — with liability resting on the commissioner. Whether that holds as systems become less predictable is exactly the open question.