The PACE Firewall: A Diagnostic Account of the Legal ScreeningMechanism for Claims of Subjectivity in Artificial Intelligence andNeurotechnology

Legal systems process claims of subjectivity from AI or neurotechnology through divergent regulatory pathways, but they share a structural vulnerability: institutional design fixates on a single condition, treating 'subject-status' (personhood) rather than the screening mechanism itself as the basic unit of analysis. The paper identifies this recurring structure that law uses when screening claims of subjectivity, without resolving the ontological question of consciousness. The author drafted the work with generative AI assistance for literature verification and structural argument development, retaining sole responsibility for all claims and conclusions.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This paper does not argue that law must first resolve the ontological question of consciousness raised by AI or neurotechnology. Instead, it proposes a conditional analytical frameworkshowing how legal systems process claims of subjectivity across divergent regulatory pathways, andreveals the structural vulnerabilities that arise whenever institutional design fixates on a single condition. These vulnerabilities trace back to a shared categorical presupposition: that “subject-status”(personhood), rather than the “screening mechanism” itself, is the basic unit of analysis. The paper’s contribution is not the discovery of a new fact about consciousness, but the identification ofa single recurring structure that law repeatedly uses when screening claims of subjectivity. Note on AI Assistance:This work was drafted with the assistance of generative AI language models, which were used for literature verification, drafting, and structural argument development under the author's direct guidance, critical evaluation, and revision at every stage. The author remains solely responsible for all claims, structure, and conclusions presented in this paper.