A trial that began on 28 January 2026 in Los Angeles could reshape how markets value technology companies, how regulators approach AI deployment, and how industries that optimize for compulsive consumer behavior face liability.
This is not speculation. It is pattern recognition from the first two weeks of live trial proceedings showing that courts are treating deliberate addiction engineering as potentially catastrophic liability, not product defects.
This public digest explains what is happening, why financial institutions are paying attention, and what the timeline looks like for potential cascade effects.