DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20848153 Imagine this courtroom scenario: Judge: “Who committed the fraud?” Counsel: “The algorithm, Your Honour.” Judge: “And where is the defendant?” Counsel: “A server farm in Texas.” Silence arrives. Confusion follows. The court adjourns for a technical explanation no one fully understands. It sounds absurd. Yet this scenario captures one of the most pressing governance challenges of the digital age: If artificial intelligence causes harm — wh