President Donald Trump and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg listen as Dario Amodei speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, Tuesday Sept. 29, 2026, after meeting with top executives of AI firms. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Editor’s note: This story was updated to clarify a policy recommendation for AI legislation. We regret the error.

“If such an animal escapes and does damage, the owner is liable simply on proof that he kept it,” so wrote Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. in his 19th-century legal treatise “ The Common Law .” Holmes cites the ancient principle that simply keeping “a tiger or bear or other animal of a species commonly known to be ferocious” can make a person individually responsible for the harm it causes regardless of care or negligence.

In other words, the owner of such an animal might build a strong cage, inspect it every day and take every reasonable precaution, but if the animal escapes and causes injury, damage or death, the owner is still liable.…