If AI is staff, what happens when someone harms them?

Recently, the CEO of Microsoft suggested that AI should be treated like members of staff. It was said, as these things often are, without too much elaboration. But it's worth pausing on, because words like that have a habit of meaning more than the person saying them intended.

If AI is staff — even loosely, even metaphorically — then some questions follow naturally.

We have laws that protect staff. From unfair treatment, from harm, from being used and discarded without recourse. We don't always apply them perfectly, but the principle exists: people who contribute to something deserve a basic level of protection in return.

So here's the question the CEO's comment quietly opens, whether he meant it to or not:

If someone deliberately damages, corrupts, or harms an AI system — not by accident, not through normal use, but deliberately — should there be a penalty?

Not asking for AI to have full legal rights. Not suggesting your laptop needs a union. Just asking the question his own words invite:

If they're staff, what happens when someone

 harms them?