Sharanya Chouhan

Is AI Speech Speech, and what are the Legal Implications of the Answer?

Started Feb. 23, 2026

Abstract or project description

Scholars have debated whether AI generated content qualifies as speech, often times neglecting to establish clear boundaries around the definition of speech and/or failing to apply the nuances of human speech into this situation.This paper creates clear conditions for an expression to be considered legal speech, and determines the various contexts in which AI generated content does and does not qualify as such. AI generated content that is publicly shared by a human user is treated as legal speech, while AI generated content shared “privately” is treated more similarly to a product. This paper also pushes for concrete legal safety standards for LLMs to reach before being released to the general public, allowing companies a way to prove they fulfilled their duty of care and users a way to receive compensation if harmed by AI generated content.