Argentina Proposes 'Non-Human Corporations' Run by AI

Argentina Proposes 'Non-Human Corporations' Run by AI — With a Human Catch

Argentina's President Javier Milei has proposed a bill creating a new legal category for 'non-human corporations' run entirely by AI, but a Reuters analysis reveals human administrators would still be required. The bill aims to attract AI investment but faces questions about liability and feasibility.

Key Takeaways

Argentina's President Javier Milei has proposed a bill creating a new legal category for 'non-human corporations' run entirely by AI, but a Reuters analysis reveals human administrators would still be required.
The bill aims to attract AI investment but faces questions about liability and feasibility.

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Argentine President Javier Milei has sparked both excitement and alarm with a congressional bill to create "non-human corporations" — companies owned and operated by artificial intelligence — but a Reuters analysis published July 3 reveals the reality may be less revolutionary than advertised.

The bill, part of a comprehensive reform to modernize Argentina's corporate law, would establish a new legal entity category: the "automated company." In a Financial Times op-ed, Milei described a future where AI agents or robots "exercise independent judgment in unpredictable environments," positioning Argentina as a global pioneer in AI-friendly regulation.

However, corporate attorneys tell Reuters that the proposed legislation requires every automated company to have a human administrator overseeing operations. The bill explicitly states that companies may use AI for decision-making without exempting administrators from supervising the outcomes.

"It would be too wild a first step to dispense with human agency entirely," said Lawrence Cunningham, director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. Still, he called Milei's proposal bold: "We're not changing the world here so much as we're recognizing that you might run a business without any HR. It's the beginning of something."

The bill also allows for decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) built on blockchain, though it requires token users to be identified and registered — a challenge for an industry built around anonymity.

Criticism came swiftly. Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari warned that granting AI too much power could reduce corporate accountability. The bill does hold companies liable for damages caused by AI or algorithmic systems.

Milei, who has dramatically reduced inflation and courted foreign investors, has pitched Argentina as a future AI hub, highlighting Patagonia's cold climate and energy supply as ideal for data centers. OpenAI and Sur Energy announced plans in October for a $25 billion data center investment.

Current technical capabilities are not yet advanced enough for AI agents to make fully autonomous business decisions, experts caution. The bill's co-author, law professor Diego Duprat, noted that automated companies already exist in some forms, citing AI-supported cashier-less supermarkets as precedent.