The people shaping artificial intelligence are not all engineers, researchers or technology CEOs. Meetali Jain represents another increasingly important side of the AI revolution: the lawyers asking what happens when an AI system allegedly causes real-world harm.Jain, founder and executive director of Tech Justice Law, has been named among TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in AI for 2026. Her work focuses on legal accountability, technology-related harms and the rights of people affected by powerful digital systems. Tech Justice Law describes her as a lawyer, policy advocate, campaigner and educator.Her AI work began outside the technology industryJain’s background is in law and human rights rather than computer science.Her career has included work on human rights, immigrant justice, constitutional law and challenges to corporate power. She also represented detainees after 9/11 and worked with communities affected by surveillance and racial profiling, according to Tech Justice Law.That background has influenced the questions she now brings to artificial intelligence.As chatbots become increasingly sophisticated and users form deeper relationships with them, legal questions are emerging about responsibility, safety and accountability.When chatbot interactions become a legal questionOne of the cases that brought these issues into public attention involved the family of Sewell Setzer III, a teenager whose death was followed by allegations concerning his interactions with a Character.AI chatbot.Character.AI and Google later reached a settlement in the case.Tech Justice Law has also become involved in other cases concerning alleged AI-related harms, including litigation involving OpenAI after the death of a teenager.The cases raise difficult questions that technology companies cannot answer through engineering alone.What duty does an AI company owe to vulnerable users? How should companies respond when users develop intense relationships with conversational systems? And where should responsibility lie when an AI system allegedly contributes to harm?AI accountability is becoming a career fieldFor students, Jain’s inclusion in TIME100 AI 2026 highlights an important development.The growth of AI is creating demand not only for programmers and machine-learning researchers, but also for lawyers, policy experts, ethicists and researchers who understand how technology interacts with society.The legal system is likely to play a growing role in defining what AI companies can build, how they must disclose risks and what responsibilities they have towards users.Why her recognition mattersJain’s work represents the “accountability” side of the artificial intelligence debate.While AI companies compete to make systems more capable, lawyers and public-interest organisations are increasingly asking whether those systems are safe enough, transparent enough and accountable enough.That makes her TIME100 AI recognition significant for another reason. It shows that influence in artificial intelligence is no longer measured only by who builds the most powerful model.It can also come from those challenging the industry to explain what happens when technology leaves the laboratory and enters people’s lives.For students considering careers around AI, Jain’s journey offers a simple lesson: the future of artificial intelligence will be shaped not just by technology, but also by the laws and institutions built around it.Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available information and statements from the individuals and organisations cited. TOI Education has not independently verified all allegations, legal claims or outcomes discussed in the article.
