Intelligenza artificiale e manipolazione informativa del mercato finanziario

Artificial intelligence systems can spread false or misleading information and thus threaten the information efficiency and integrity of the financial market while undermining public confidence. This conflicts with the objective of the European legislator to promote full and proper market transparency. It is, therefore, appropriate to assess the effectiveness of the enforcement mechanisms of the current regulatory system to manage this specific risk posed by new technologies in financial markets. ‘Strong’ AI systems are equipped with self-learning capabilities and can produce autonomous and unpredictable outputs compared to initial inputs from the manufacturer, programmer, or user. Their peculiarities make applying the rules on civil, administrative, and criminal liability particularly critical. The characteristics of these systems could exclude the existence of negligence or intent. They could also complicate the identification of a causal link between the conduct of a human agent and the event producing the offence. The problem of spreading false or misleading information that remains unpunished can be solved based on an approach already adopted regarding digital platforms. As happens in those cases, it is possible to prove the negligence of the user of a ‘strong’ AI system if he or she does not act to remove and correct the false or misleading information that was initially disseminated and known and if the AI system used for the first time spreads a further false or misleading information due to the same defect. Finally, the powers conferred on the trading venues and the competent supervisory authority provide additional enforcement strategies to preserve the lawmaker’s objective.