‘While generative AI tools have been heralded as the future of education, more than 40 years of academic research suggests that it could also harm learning in realms from online tutoring to employee training for three reasons. First, the best student-teacher relationships are empathetic ones but it is biologically impossible for humans and AI to…

‘A federal judge in California has rejected Workday’s bid to dismiss a proposed class action claiming that the artificial intelligence-powered software the company uses to screen out job applicants for other businesses bakes in existing biases.’ Link: https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/workday-must-face-novel-bias-lawsuit-over-ai-screening-software-2024-07-15/

‘When two octogenarian buddies named Nick discovered that ChatGPT might be stealing and repurposing a lifetime of their work, they tapped a son-in-law to sue the companies behind the artificial intelligence chatbot.’ Link: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/ap-chatgpt-openai-microsoft-john-malkovich-b2578251.html

‘AI is a hot topic in the legal profession, but finding the right tool can be overwhelming. While many AI tools are designed specifically for lawyers, numerous generic tools can also be useful.’ Link: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/law_practice/resources/law-technology-today/2024/ai-tools-for-legal-work-claude-gemini-copilot-and-more/

‘AI could add trillions of dollars a year to the global economy and increase labour productivity. But experts warn that bias and misinformation may spread.’ Link: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/ai-in-society/

‘Lawyers contemplating whether to embrace artificial intelligence are ‘damned if they do and damned if they don’t’. That is how the master of the rolls put it in a recently published speech to the Professional Negligence Bar Association, looking at how AI might affect negligence claims against lawyers.’ Link: https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/commentary-and-opinion/will-ai-spark-a-new-type-of-negligence-claim/5120363.article

‘On July 12, 2024, the EU AI Act (EU Regulation 1689/2024) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The text of the law is final and will enter into force on August 1, 2024. Its provisions will apply according to the staggered timetable below. ‘ Link: https://www.mayerbrown.com/en/insights/publications/2024/07/eu-ai-act-published-which-provisions-apply-when

‘In this edition of our Public Law Podcast series, Jasveer Randhawa is joined by Jamie Susskind of 11 KBW, a leading authority in the law and regulation of digital technology.’ Link: https://www.herbertsmithfreehills.com/notes/tmt/2024-posts/public-law-podcast-episode-16

‘In this episode, Partners James Longster, from our Technology & Commercial Transactions team and Ingrid Hodgskiss, from our Competition team, discuss the evolving landscape of the application of competition law to AI. They cover the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s recent activity in the AI space, as well as other hot topics like the application of merger…

‘As we integrate the power of artificial intelligence into workplaces, the demand for responsible, human-centric processes grows.’ Link: https://guardianlabsaustraliaaiandthelaw.podbean.com/e/episode-1-can-ethics-put-the-necessary-humanity-into-ai

‘In this report, we explore how these professionals perceive the use of generative AI in their workplace, how and to what level they are using and integrating it into their processes, and perceptions of the future of work in an environment in which generative AI has made its presence felt.’ Link: https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en/reports/2024-generative-ai-in-professional-services.html

‘On the Books: Jim Crow and Algorithms of Existence is a text-mining project undertaken by University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill libraries to identify racially based laws passed in the state between 1865 and 1967. In the fall 2022, I used the On the Books project to teach a module in my Advanced Legal Research class…

‘Artificial intelligence tech companies are refusing to abide by internet protocol when it comes to scraping data. Their ravenous scavenging behavior is upending the basic rules of the internet.’ Link: https://www.npr.org/2024/07/05/nx-s1-5026932/artificial-intelligence-web-crawlers-are-running-amok

‘The Trades Union Congress (“TUC”) recently published its proposed Artificial Intelligence (Regulation and Employment Rights) Bill (the “Bill”), which aims to regulate employers’ use of AI as it relates to the rights and interests of workers.’  Link: https://www.twobirds.com/en/insights/2024/uk/trade-union-congress-draft-artificial-intelligence-regulation-and-employment-rights-bill

‘On Friday 5 July 2024, voters in the UK elected the Labour Party to form a new government. Below we share our initial thoughts on what a Labour government might mean for the development and regulation of data protection, artificial intelligence and digital products and services in the UK. ‘ Link: https://www.ropesgray.com/en/insights/viewpoints/102jc9k/labour-victory-the-implications-for-data-protection-ai-and-digital-regulation-i

‘With law firms reporting that generative AI is slashing the time involved in certain tasks, calls are growing for benchmarking and quality standards.’ Link: https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/features/the-search-for-common-standards/5120224.article 

‘The proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents both immense opportunities and significant challenges leading some to call it the Wild West.  Some of the most exciting AI advancements are happening in a world of connected devices whether it be connected or autonomous automobiles, mobile phones, virtual reality headsets or old-fashioned laptops.’ Link: https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/disconnected-rules-connected-world-ideas-ai-innovation-regulation-2024-07-09/  

‘The EU’s Artificial Intelligence Regulation, commonly referred to as the AI Act, is expected to come into force during the summer of 2024 (the AI Act). The AI Act will be the first comprehensive legal framework for the use and development of artificial intelligence (AI), and is intended to ensure that AI systems developed and used in…

‘Do large language models (LLMs) know the law? LLMs are increasingly being used to augment legal practice, education, and research, yet their revolutionary potential is threatened by the presence of “hallucinations”—textual output that is not consistent with legal facts. We present the first systematic evidence of these hallucinations in public-facing LLMs, documenting trends across jurisdictions,…

We have added a new section to AI Update. On the ‘Courses‘ page you will find lists of online courses (a large proportion of which are free/free to audit).

‘The increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in inventive processes raises numerous patent law issues, including whether AI can be an inventor under law and who owns the AI-generated inventions. The UK Supreme Court decision in Thaler v Comptroller of Patents, Designs and Trademarks has provided an ultimate answer to this question: AI cannot be an inventor for…

‘Five Canadian law societies have issued guidance for lawyers using generative AI in their practice. The Law Society of Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Ontario offer resources on licensee professional and ethical obligations when utilizing AI. The guidance ranges from a white paper flagging risks practitioners face to practical tips for implementing tools driven…

‘One reason we are sensitive about genAI (generative AI) is because knowledge and language are central to our sense of ourselves and to the institutions which are important to us. Accordingly, application of genAI raises major questions across the cultural, scholarly and civic contexts that are important to libraries. In this context, I like Alison…

‘Looking at his glossy profile picture, online commentators had decided he was computer-generated and the inevitable Twitter pile-on ensued.’ Link: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/reform-uk-ai-candidate-mark-matlock-b2576101.html

‘A fierce legal battle involving the future of generative AI took a fascinating turn last week in a tenacious copyright infringement lawsuit that had been brought by a major publisher against AI maker OpenAI of ChatGPT fame. The specific case entails the New York Times (NYT) seeking a legal bid to score a bullseye on OpenAI for…

‘Michael Stych has co-founded a service offering help with legal questions through a chatbot. He tells Catherine Baksi he wants it to be a force for good.’ Link: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/law/article/we-use-ai-to-make-justice-more-accessible-to-ordinary-people-fk78crxtt

‘Many in the information seeking community are excited about the promise of large language models and Generative AI to improve scholarly information access. These models can quickly transform the content of scholarly works in ways that can make them more approachable, digestible, and suitably written for audiences for whom the works may not have been…

‘We introduce the Cambridge Law Corpus (CLC), a corpus for legal AI research. It consists of over 250 000 court cases from the UK. Most cases are from the 21st century, but the corpus includes cases as old as the 16th century. This paper presents the first release of the corpus, containing the raw text…

‘Two critical policy questions will determine the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on the knowledge economy and the creative sector. The first concerns how we think about the training of such models—in particular, whether the creators or owners of the data that are “scraped” (lawfully or unlawfully, with or without permission) should be compensated…

‘Artificial intelligence is an electricity hog. Google says its total greenhouse gas emissions climbed nearly 50% over five years, mostly due to electricity that powers AI data centers.’ Link: https://www.npr.org/2024/07/10/nx-s1-5028558/artificial-intelligences-thirst-for-electricity

‘Long before “generative AI” became a buzz word, the Artificial Inventor Project started a campaign for the reform of patent law. They found a scientist who owned an AI system called “DABUS”, which allegedly conceived of two inventions (a torch and a food container).’ Link: https://www.eversheds-sutherland.com/en/ireland/insights/german-federal-supreme-court-confirms-that-ai-system-cannot-be-named-as-inventor

‘Researchers’ attitudes to AI vary significantly across career stage, subject area, and country. While 76% of researchers say they have used some form of AI tool in their research, our survey uncovered unexpected generational differences and polarised opinions on the impact of AI.’ Link: https://blog.oup.com/2024/07/ai-attitudes-and-behaviour-researcher-profiles-interactive/

‘The launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 led to major controversies about the governance of generative artificial intelligence (AI). This article examines the first international governance and policy initiatives dedicated specifically to generative AI: the G7 Hiroshima process, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development reports, and the UK AI Safety Summit. This analysis is…

‘The regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) should strike a balance between addressing the risks of the technology and its benefits through enabling useful innovation whilst remaining adaptable to evolving risks. The European Union’s (EU) overarching risk-based regulation subjects AI systems across industries to a set of regulatory standards depending on where they fall in the…

‘In Brave New Words, Salman Khan, the visionary behind Khan Academy, explores how artificial intelligence and GPT technology will transform learning, and offers a roadmap for teachers, parents, and students to navigate this exciting – and sometimes intimidating – new world.’ Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fpiH2Yng78

‘It’s hard to avoid the topic of artificial intelligence. Since ChatGPT was introduced in November 2022, AI has infiltrated just about every aspect of human life—and at a pace that is almost impossible to keep up with. Pope Francis recently attended the G7 summit to address global leaders on the perils and promises of AI—the first time…

‘While 2023 was a year of first introductions, testing, and many, many blunders for AI chatbots and other tools, 2024 has seen the release of AI tools of growing sophistication and wider adoption. Big tech companies like Google and Microsoft are upping their game. Startups like Anthropic, Mistral, and OpenAI are continuing their winning streaks, while other contenders such…

‘The Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, has appointed Prof Richard Susskind OBE KC (Hon) as her Special Envoy for Justice and Artificial Intelligence.’ Link: https://thecommonwealth.org/news/commonwealth-secretary-general-appoints-prof-richard-susskind-special-envoy-justice-and-ai

‘Law clerks and interns for federal Judge Xavier Rodriguez recently spent weeks poring over evidence from a high-profile trial on challenges to Texas’ voting and election laws, and then summarized key testimony for the court’s official findings of fact and conclusions of law.’ Link: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/insurance/law-clerk-vs-ai-courthouse-test-highlights-judicial-curiosity

‘Typically, organizations in the midst of transformation efforts spend significant time and resources trying to correct massive amounts of “technical debt” — the price of years of short-term decisions and prioritizations that result in an overly complex technological infrastructure. But equally challenging is managing organizations’ often undiscussed “process debt” — the build-up of often antiquated,…

‘It has been a month since Google’s spectacular goof. Its new AI Overviews feature was supposed to “take the legwork out of searching,” offering up easy-to-read answers to our queries based on multiple search results. Instead, it told people to eat rocks and to glue cheese on pizza. You could ask Google what country in Africa starts with…

‘New computing infrastructure means big tech is likely to miss emissions targets but they can’t afford to get left behind in a winner takes all market.’ Link: https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jul/04/can-the-climate-survive-the-insatiable-energy-demands-of-the-ai-arms-race

‘The recent rise in artificial intelligence systems, such as ChatGPT, poses a fundamental problem for the educational sector. In universities and schools, many forms of assessment, such as coursework, are completed without invigilation. Therefore, students could hand in work as their own which is in fact completed by AI. Since the COVID pandemic, the sector…