Venture capitalist Bill Gurley, former general partner at Benchmark, stated on X early Sunday, November 15, 2026, that the United States should implement product liability laws for software. Gurley highlighted an upcoming European Union directive and warned of significant financial implications for software creators. He posted, "On December 9th of the year the EU Product Liability Directive (PLD) will go into effect. For the first time software will have same product liability as physical products. With the recent plane stoppage caused by software & the reckless hacking by leading LLM companies, the US should do the same thing. The creators of the software need to recognize the financial impact that is possible. Which is huge."
The call for increased software accountability comes amidst heightened scrutiny of artificial intelligence and its potential risks. Recent reports have discussed claims regarding certain AI allies seeking government control and the market's view of AI as a "first infinite demand good." Concerns about the power and potential misuse of large language models (LLMs) have been prominent in discussions around tech leadership and the rapid growth of companies like Nvidia, which recently reported 83% growth.
Gurley's view suggests that new regulations could impose substantial financial burdens on software developers and AI companies, potentially reshaping the tech industry's risk assessment and development practices. Investors may need to watch for legislative moves in the US that could mirror the EU's PLD, as such changes would introduce new legal and financial liabilities for software products, including AI. This could impact valuations and operational costs for companies heavily reliant on software development.
