PubLedgeGenAI Is Not A Defense — Civil And Criminal
Utah removed "the AI did it" as a defense in both civil and criminal contexts. A principal who uses, prompts, or acts through generative AI remains liable for the resulting statement or act. The criminal rule (§76-2-107, SB 149, effective 2024-05-01) and the civil mirror together eliminate the doctrine across Utah consumer-protection and criminal law. The civil rule was first enacted at §13-2-12(2) (SB 149, effective 2024-05-01) and re-sited at §13-75-102 (SB 226, effective 2025-05-07).
Codification bridge (selected sources)
The October 15, 2026 bridge checks the selected current civil locator and its §13-2-102 cross-reference against the retained Chapter 77 code and 2026 enrolled SB 38 §§3-4, 163-164. The Summary retains the historical enrolled numbering. The criminal, principal, foreseeability and third-party assertions were not re-reviewed by this bridge; their existing qualifications and unknowns remain. No underlying violation is established merely by AI use, and no human verification date is renewed.
What Counts
- For a violation of a statute administered and enforced by the division under §13-2-102, it is not a defense that GenAI made the violative statement, undertook the violative act, or was used in furtherance of the violation (§13-77-102)
- A criminal defendant may be convicted where the offense was committed "with the aid of" GenAI or the defendant "intentionally prompted" GenAI to commit the offense
- Applies regardless of whether the AI output was foreseeable, if the defendant is a principal who deployed or prompted the system
What Does Not Count
- Standalone penalty for using AI — the doctrine does not itself create liability, only removes the defense to an otherwise-existing violation
- Strict liability absent an underlying consumer-protection or criminal offense
- Third-party AI vendor liability that is not routed through the principal's own conduct
Associated records (including proposals)
| Legal Instrument | Scope | Status | Mapping entries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utah SB 149 (2024) — Artificial Intelligence Amendments | us-ut | enforcing | 1 |
| Utah SB 226 (2025) — Artificial Intelligence Consumer Protection Amendments | us-ut | enforcing | 1 |