Criminal Liability in the Digital Age: A Comparative and Behavioural Framework for Cybercrime in an AI-Driven World

Abstract

This advanced international-journal article develops a multidisciplinary framework for criminal liability in the digital age, with a particular focus on AI-enabled cybercrime, human behavioural vulnerability, and cross-jurisdictional legal fragmentation. Drawing on behavioural science, cyberpsychology, digital forensics, and comparative criminal law, the paper argues that cybercrime is best understood as a behaviourally scripted, technologically amplified phenomenon rather than a purely technical offence. Traditional doctrines of mens rea, actus reus, causation, and evidence, designed for physical acts in territorial spaces, face significant strain when applied to autonomous malware, deepfakes, botnets, crypto-ransomware, and large-scale social engineering campaigns. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines doctrinal analysis, cross-cultural behavioural insights, and case-law examination from India, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Sweden, the article identifies recurring gaps in attribution, intent assessment, and evidentiary reliability. It then proposes a Hybrid Behavioural–Technological–Legal Liability Framework, incorporating a Behavioural Vulnerability Index, an Algorithmic Autonomy Spectrum, and a Multi-Actor Cyber Liability Grid. The conclusion calls for incremental harmonisation of cyber liability standards, integration of behavioural science into cyber legislation, and robust international cooperation to safeguard justice in an AI-driven digital ecosystem.