Milei Defends AI Company Legal Status Amid Dispute with Author Harari

Argentine President Javier Milei has reignited a debate over his proposal to grant legal personhood to companies managed by artificial intelligence, clashing publicly with author Yuval Noah Harari.

Milei responded to Harari's warnings by stating, "Granting legal personhood to an AI company is not like launching the Terminator's doomsday," in a lengthy statement posted on social media. Harari, a professor and author of best-selling books like 'Sapiens,' had cautioned against the initiative, questioning the ultraliberal president's ideas.

The controversy began on June 4 when Milei published an article in the Financial Times, promising Argentina would offer the AI sector "the most attractive legal and fiscal framework in the world." He pledged advantageous tax conditions, deregulation for AI development, and the creation of a new category of companies: "non-human corporations, operated by AI agents or robots," protected by limited liability.

Four days later, Harari responded in the Financial Times, arguing that granting legal status to non-human corporations would give AI "a universal key" to access financial, economic, and political systems. He expressed concern about AI's ability to exploit legal loopholes or cheat.

Milei countered Harari's concerns, asserting that if AI-operated companies pose greater risks, the argument for legal personhood is strengthened because they would be more regulated. He drew parallels to human-run corporations, noting that humans also exploit loopholes, and stated that autonomous companies would face the same penalties as human-managed ones.

While acknowledging Harari's "vision of the future" and warnings of "cities consumed by forces beyond human control" deserve respect, Milei recalled that the Industrial Revolution also sparked fears but ultimately multiplied global production significantly. He believes AI will lead to an increasing number of small companies rather than a few dominant corporations, suggesting that legal personhood for AI could act as an antidote to concentration.