---
title: "Design defect"
description: "In product liability, a defect inherent in the design of every unit, judged by consumer expectations or by weighing risk against utility."
canonical: https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/design-defect
author: "Jorge García Aibar"
license: "CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)"
doi: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22956197
version: "0.5.0"
updated: 2026-09-24
---

# Design defect

In product liability, a defect inherent in the design of every unit, judged by consumer expectations or by weighing risk against utility [1]. For AI: untested operating conditions, a missing guardrail or missing oversight where a safer alternative was reasonably available.

- Developed in: [ch. 20, Defect types mapped to AI failure modes](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/existing-law#defect-types-mapped-to-ai-failure-modes)
- Chapters: [ch. 20, Existing Law](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/existing-law)
- Contrast with: [Manufacturing defect](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/manufacturing-defect)
- In the glossary chapter: https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/glossary#t-design-defect

## Sources

[1] "Products liability" (design, manufacturing and marketing defects, incl. failure to warn; consumer-expectation and risk-utility tests). Legal Information Institute, Wex. 2026. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/products_liability (verified: secondary)