To clarify by intent I mean whether the intent was to circumvent or not wrt strength of technical DRM not whether the intent was to use it fairly or not; nothing to do with morals or ethics. I make no comment on whether it is right, just, or absurd.

When people say intent matters, what they generally mean is intent to do something wrong. It implies that having no malicious intent would exculpate you. Applying it exclusively to the intent to do something innocuous is... I believe the technical term is cheating.

And does the DMCA have even that as an intent requirement? Suppose you tell your local AI to copy something without even knowing that it has any DRM, and it does. Is that still a violation? Obvious loophole if it isn't, but intent requirement 100% fully absent if it is.