‘This paper asks whether large language models (LLMs) can apply the law. It does not question whether LLMs should apply the law. Instead, it distinguishes between two interpretations of the ‘can’ question. One, can LLMs apply the law like ordinary individuals? Two, can LLMs apply the law in the same manner as judges? The study…

‘Many countries use automated decision-making (ADM) systems, often based on artificial intelligence (AI), to manage migration at their borders. This interdisciplinary paper explores two questions. What are the main ways that automated decision-making is used at EU borders? Does such automated decision-making bring risks related to human rights, and if so: which risks? The paper…

‘On October 24, 2024, President Biden issued the first-ever National Security Memorandum (NSM) on artificial intelligence (AI), fulfilling another directive (subsection 4.8) set forth in the Administration’s Executive Order on AI and outlining how the federal government intends to approach AI national security policy. The NSM also includes a classified annex, which addresses sensitive national security issues. The release…

‘A law firm is using teams of trainee solicitors to find problems that can be solved by artificial intelligence (AI), develop solutions and present them to managers.’ Link: https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/law-firm-uses-trainees-to-find-problems-and-solve-them-with-ai

‘In this episode, Partner James Longster in our Technology & Commercial Transactions team sits down with Senior Associate Laura Smyth in our Operational Risk & Environment team, to discuss the Corporate Governance implications of the new EU Artificial Intelligence Act.’ Link: https://www.traverssmith.com/knowledge/knowledge-container/episode-8-ai-insights-corporate-governance-implications-of-the-eu-ai-act

‘There’s a lot of hype around generative AI (GenAI) – but how is it being used in lawyers’ day-to-day work?’ Link: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/Topics/AI-and-lawtech/Features/Adopting-a-hands-off-approach-to-AI-could-have-unintended-consequences

‘The reality of law practice will likely be significantly different in 10 years. Will what I teach now be helpful and relevant to my students then? What does it mean to practice law well when generative artificial intelligence can already generate a mediocre legal brief, and online automated legal services can provide people with a…

‘The 2024 Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Lawyer Survey reveals that generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is no longer optional but a reality in the legal industry. To stay relevant and deliver efficient services, legal professionals need to effectively apply this technology to their work. But despite the promising benefits, implementing GenAI is not without its challenges.’ Link: https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en-gb/expert-insights/gen-ai-transforming-legal-industry

‘This paper explores the necessary adaptations to the theory of administrative discretion when using AI systems. Regulatory frameworks in the EU, US, and Spain do not prohibit the application of AI in discretionary decision-making. Particularly, AI systems can be used when discretionary power involves correlations. However, to meet Rule of Law conditions, it is essential…

‘This study investigates the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to predict sentencing outcomes in terrorism-related attempted murder cases. By comparing AI model predictions with actual sentences from Israeli civilian and military courts, the research evaluates AI’s accuracy and consistency. Findings indicate that AI predictions align closely with human judgments yet also reveal significant challenges in…

‘Claims that GPT-4 can outperform more than 90% of human test-takers in the US Uniform Bar Examination have sparked heated debates about the impact of Generative AI (GenAI) on legal education, academic integrity, and the future of legal practice. Yet GenAI’s capabilities in broader legal examination contexts – including in jurisdictions outside the US –…

‘Irresponsible use of AI can lead to serious and embarrassing consequences. Sam Thomas briefs barristers on the five key risks and how to avoid them.’ Link: https://www.counselmagazine.co.uk/articles/ai-the-five-biggest-risks-for-barristers

‘Robots are slowly replacing humans in many areas of the economy. This paper compares the current-day arbitration laws of Australia, Cayman Islands, European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Qatar, Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which are considered arbitration friendly. The paper confirms that the respective arbitration laws do not clearly and unequivocally provide for a robot…

The Digital Trading Revolution: Underpinned by Law, Legal Geek Conference 2024 Link: https://www.judiciary.uk/speech-by-the-master-of-the-rolls-the-digital-trading-revolution-underpinned-by-law/

‘AI has the real likelihood of transforming the practice of family law solicitors more than the major conceptual changes from the Children Act, the seismic shift from White or the speed of response needed from lis pendens of EU law – a transformation which will happen fast even in the slow-moving, conservative legal profession.’ Link: https://financialremediesjournal.com/content/ai-and-family-law.e9744d02a0f449808f98dc0109d1d8f2.htm?utm_source=pocket_shared

‘The use of AI, and in particular generative AI, has the potential to transform the way legal services are provided. The purpose of this guide is to provide answers to the key issues concerning the use of generative AI that are relevant to members of the profession.’ Link: https://lawscot.org.uk/media/pl1lnu5n/ai-guide.pdf

‘Deepfake technology poses a profound challenge to the integrity of facial evidence in criminal justice, threatening the authenticity and admissibility of such evidence in the courtroom. In this research, a specialized deepfake detection system tailored for facial evidence verification was developed, aiming to counteract the influence of deepfake technology. The proposed system integrates a unique…

‘Global Intelligence claims its Cybercheck technology can help cops find key evidence to nail a case. But a WIRED investigation reveals the smoking gun often appears far less solid.’ Link: https://www.wired.com/story/cybercheck-crime-reports-prosecutions/

‘Does ChatGPT treat you the same whether you’re a Laurie, Luke, or Lashonda? Almost, but not quite. OpenAI has analyzed millions of conversations with its hit chatbot and found that ChatGPT will produce a harmful gender or racial stereotype based on a user’s name in around one in 1000 responses on average, and as many as one…

‘The well-groomed young man dressed in a crisp, blue shirt speaking with a soft American accent seems an unlikely supporter of the junta leader of the west African state of Burkina Faso.’ Link: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/oct/16/its-not-me-its-just-my-face-the-models-who-found-their-likenesses-had-been-used-in-ai-propaganda

‘The Council of Europe has issued recommendations to its 46 member states aimed at ensuring that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and related digital technologies by prison and probation services respects the human rights and dignity of detainees, probationers, as well as staff.’ Link: https://coe.int/en/web/portal/-/ai-in-prisons-and-probation-new-council-of-europe-recommendation-aims-to-ensure-respect-for-human-rights-and-dignity

‘[T]he latest in the Future of Legal Practice series, with Richard Nicholas, AI Lawyer with Browne Jacobson. Richard advises business on AI projects and governance and offers training on the practical use of AI in business.’ Link: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/events/future-of-legal-practice-ai-and-the-future-of-law-its-not-about-the-tools-its-about-you-and-me

‘The pace at which Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the face of almost every human activity cannot be ignored or overemphasized. The impacts of AI range from health, finance, telecommunication, agriculture, and security to education, administrative decision-making, etc. The judiciary is not exempted, with some countries experimenting with the use of AI algorithms in judicial decision-making, including criminal…

‘Few industries remain untouched by the potential for transformation through artificial intelligence (AI) – or at least the hype.’ Link: https://lens.monash.edu/@business-economy/2024/10/15/1386909/the-rise-of-the-machine-defendant-whos-to-blame-when-an-ai-makes-mistakes

‘The Law Society of England and Wales has announced its new artificial intelligence (AI) strategy based on three pillars: innovation, impact and integrity.’ Link: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/contact-or-visit-us/press-office/press-releases/law-society-new-ai-strategy-the-three-is

‘Some of the most prominent artificial intelligence models are falling short of European regulations in key areas such as cybersecurity resilience and discriminatory output, according to data seen by Reuters.’ Link: https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/eu-ai-act-checker-reveals-big-techs-compliance-pitfalls-2024-10-16/

‘In this article, Zubair Abbasi outlines his comparative study of the accuracy of ChatGPT-4, Co-Pilot, and Gemini, to assess the accuracy of generative AI in interpreting Islamic inheritance law.’ Link: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/religionglobalsociety/2024/10/can-generative-ai-master-islamic-inheritance-law/

‘If the UK Government wants public sector use of AI and automation to be underpinned by ‘trust and transparency’, it should learn lessons from the approaches taken elsewhere in the world and introduce key legal requirements, according to a new report from the Public Law Project (PLP). ‘ Link: https://publiclawproject.org.uk/resources/around-the-world-in-ai-regulation-how-the-uk-can-become-a-leader-in-transparency/

‘The EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act began entering into force on 1 August 2024. It will take some 2-3 years to come fully into operation. The Council of Europe’s Treaty on AI and human rights, democracy and the rule of law was opened for signature on 5 September 2024 by European Justice Ministers in Vilnius. The Council of…

‘This presentation examined a number of developments down the ages which have had the potential to increase transparency and public awareness of the justice system. It considers how technology from architecture to artificial intelligence can make legal information more accessible and transparent and the justice system more responsive to people’s needs. There has been a…

‘The Artificial Intelligence field, or AI, experienced a renaissance in the last few years across various fields such as law, medicine, and finance. While there are studies outlining the landscape of AI in the legal field as well as surveys of the current AI efforts of law firms, to our knowledge there has not been…

‘Interest in artificial intelligence (AI) has grown rapidly alongside the ability to examine information in far vaster quantities and from more diverse sources, and to provide previously unattainable forms of evaluation. For the intelligence community, AI offers an important solution to their data collection bottleneck, allowing the data to be processed and analysed at speeds…

‘This paper examines the impact that the finally approved Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA) will have on European public authorities when developing, acquiring and using AI systems. It argues that, despite the initial disappointment that the Act may cause when approaching it from an administrative law perspective, and despite the fact that some of the solutions…

‘Automated employment decision tools use machine learning, artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, and other data-driven approaches to enhance candidate experiences and streamline employment related decision-making, allowing human resources to be concentrated where they are needed most. However, the use of these tools without appropriate safeguards has resulted in a number of high-profile scandals in recent years,…

‘As part of our interest in helping academic researchers harness AI, we surveyed 2,300 researchers to understand their use of AI, as well as their attitudes and worries. Our findings show that a quarter (25%) of those in the early stages of their careers have reported having sceptical or challenging views of AI. However, this proportion falls to…

‘A new ruling by the EU’s highest court could serve as a significant drag on the ability of businesses in Europe to support and benefit from AI innovation, an expert has warned. Link: https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/news/eu-legitimate-interests-ruling-could-hurt-ai-development

‘The rise of AI-generated content in popular information sources raises significant concerns about accountability, accuracy, and bias amplification. Beyond directly impacting consumers, the widespread presence of this content poses questions for the long-term viability of training language models on vast internet sweeps. We use GPTZero, a proprietary AI detector, and Binoculars, an open-source alternative, to…

‘The public release of generative AI services, such as ChatGPT, has stirred intense public interest across all sectors of society, including the legal profession. The question of whether AI could replace lawyers, as well as how society should govern AI through the law, has ceased to be a concern belonging solely to science fiction movies.…

‘Cognitive presence and social presence are crucial for a comprehensive learning experience. Despite the flexibility of asynchronous learning environments to accommodate individual schedules, the inherent constraints of asynchronous environments make augmenting cognitive and social presence particularly challenging. Students often face challenges such as a lack of timely feedback and support, a lack of non-verbal cues…

‘Factors are a foundational component of legal analysis and computational models of legal reasoning. These factor-based representations enable lawyers, judges, and AI and Law researchers to reason about legal cases. In this paper, we introduce a methodology that leverages large language models (LLMs) to discover lists of factors that effectively represent a legal domain. Our…

‘Large Language Models (LLMs) enable a future in which certain types of legal documents may be generated automatically. This has a great potential to streamline legal processes, lower the cost of legal services, and dramatically increase access to justice. While many researchers focus on proposing and evaluating LLM-based applications supporting tasks in the legal domain,…

‘For businesses small and large, artificial intelligence (AI) is associated with various exciting words such as innovation, opportunity and competitive advantage. But there’s another word that needs to be on that list: compliance.’ Link: https://www.ibm.com/think/insights/ai-compliance

‘UNESCO and Colombia’s Superior Council of the Judiciary are forging an innovative partnership to promote the ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the judicial system. This collaboration marks a significant step towards ensuring that technology improves justice and human rights in Colombia and the rest of Latin America.’ Link: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-and-colombia-leaders-ethical-and-responsible-use-ai-judiciary

‘Can would-be law students use generative artificial intelligence programs, such as ChatGPT, to write admissions essays? Fifty-four percent of surveyed law schools have no official policy on the issue, according to a survey by test prep company Kaplan.’ Link: https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/a-majority-of-surveyed-law-schools-have-no-policy-on-using-ai-to-write-admission-essays

‘There is a growing tension in Europe between the economic interests in enabling developers of artificial intelligence (AI) systems to access data on which to train their models and the legal frameworks that impose constraints on the ability of developers to do that.’ Link: https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/news/data-protection-interventions-put-europe-at-ai-crossroads

‘In the age of generative AI, can teaching videos be efficiently and effectively generated by large language models? In this study, the authors used generative AI tools to develop four short teaching videos for a management course and then compared them with human-generated videos on the same subjects in an online experiment. In an across-subject…