The undue influence of AI assistants, agents and companions

Jeannie Marie Paterson and Elise Bant
(2013) 7(3) Journal of Equity 171

Jeannie Marie Paterson and Elise Bant, ‘The undue influence of AI assistants, agents and companions’ (2026) 19(1) Journal of Equity 107

Abstract

With developments in AI, new services are becoming available to humans, including the possibility of AI assistants, agents and companions. These services offer humans the benefits of AI expertise and personalisation — using insights from data to augment human decision-making capacity. Yet for private law scholars, they raise concerns about potential undue influence via AI on the choices of human users. In equity, the doctrine of undue influence protects the interests of a party subject to influence. However, the doctrine is generally applied to influence between humans. AI is not sentient, and AI assistants, agents and companions pursue purposes defined by humans, without understanding or sentiment. Accordingly, our question is whether the doctrine of undue influence can respond to interactions between AI services and consumers, as opposed to those between natural persons.