This idea explores how changes in liability laws affect accident rates in high-risk industries—particularly those with rare but catastrophic events like oil production or nuclear energy. The findings could help design better liability frameworks for emerging technologies like AI, where balancing safety and innovation is crucial yet poorly understood.

Understanding the Research Approach

One way to study this would be to analyze historical changes in liability laws across different regions and industries. For example, researchers could:

• Identify cases where liability rules changed in one jurisdiction but not in comparable ones
• Use statistical methods to isolate the impact of these legal changes from other factors
• Compare how different liability structures (like strict liability vs. negligence standards) influence safety outcomes

This approach could provide concrete evidence about whether increasing liability exposure actually reduces accidents in high-stakes environments—a question that currently relies more on theory than data.

Potential Applications and Stakeholders

The results could be particularly valuable for:

• Policymakers designing liability rules for AI and other complex technologies
• Industries operating in high-risk environments who need to anticipate liability risks
• Insurance providers who must price coverage for rare but severe accidents

An initial, simpler version of this research might focus on a single industry with clear liability changes and good accident data, like offshore oil drilling after major incidents. This could serve as a proof of concept before expanding to other sectors or emerging technologies.