Notes: Choi argues that software development is a profession, and that software developers should be treated as professionals for liability purposes. Professional status is a double-edged sword: in some ways the law is harder on professionals (stronger duties to their clients, higher standards of competence), and in some ways it is more forgiving (deference to the customary standards in the profession).
Questions:
How does the way that software is developed affect the quality of the resulting software?
Was Choi’s description of software development accurate in 2020? Is it accurate now in 2023?
Does the legal category of “professionals” track the everyday usage of the term?
What are the reasons for treating professionals differently than others when it comes to tort liability?
Is software development a profession in this sense? How does it compare to other legally recognized professions, like medicine, law, engineering, and plumbing?
If developers really are professionals, are there other consequences – e.g., could the practice of software development require a license, the same way that the practice of medicine does?
Chinmayi Sharma, AI’s Hippocratic Oath, Washington University Law Review (forthcoming). Sharma proposes a system in which AI engineers must obtain licenses to make commercial products.