Suficiencia del COIP ante la suplantación de identidad mediante inteligencia artificial con fines fraudulentos.

Abstract

Artificial intelligence has expanded the possibilities of generating images, audio recordings, and videos capable of reproducing a person’s identity with a high degree of realism. When such content is used to deceive others and obtain an economic benefit, difficulties arise in determining the applicable criminal-law response. This research analyzes the sufficiency of Articles 186 and 212 of Ecuador’s Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code (COIP) regarding identity impersonation through artificial intelligence for fraudulent purposes. A qualitative, documentary, and legal-doctrinal approach was adopted, supported by exegetical, analytical-synthetic, and comparative methods through the examination of legislation, case law, specialized legal doctrine, and institutional documents. The findings indicate that artificial intelligence operates as a means of committing the offense and does not, by itself, alter the legal elements of fraud or identity impersonation. Likewise, the concurrence of both criminal offenses must be determined according to whether there is a single act or several autonomous acts, while the liability of each participant requires an individual assessment of knowledge, intent, and the relevance of the contribution made. The study concludes that the COIP provides conditional normative sufficiency, although its application requires clear criteria regarding legal classification, concurrence of offenses, and individual attribution of criminal responsibility. Accordingly, a set of legal-criminal interpretative criteria is proposed to guide justice system operators.