‘Popular AI image-generating systems notoriously tend to amplify harmful biases and stereotypes. But just how big a problem is it? You can now see for yourself using interactive new online tools. (Spoiler alert: it’s big.)’ Link: https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/03/22/1070167/these-news-tool-let-you-see-for-yourself-how-biased-ai-image-models-are

‘The publication of a monograph by Dr Luca Siliquini-Cinelli on the history of scientia iuris in which he argues that law is a constructed form of knowledge that differs from experience is not just an important and very learned contribution to historical jurisprudence. The book’s thesis is also making an important contribution to the debate about the…

‘Conversations about algorithms and fairness can overlook the bifurcation of justice. Whilst distributive justice is integral to accountability for algorithmic bias and related harms, without procedural justice and ‘voice’, defined as consent, transparency, and a right to be heard, algorithmic decisions will fail to find legitimacy and acceptance. Fairness metrics respond better to distributive justice…

‘As robots are increasingly found in various aspects of human life, understanding how humans relate to and interact with robots is becoming more relevant. One important factor affecting the quality of human-robot interactions is trust, and in recent years there has been an increase in scientific interest in the nature of trust between humans and…

‘The Canadian Legal Information Institute, better known as CanLII, has sued a newly launched company that describes itself as an artificial intelligence-driven legal research assistant, alleging the company poached its content and is offering it to users who pay a monthly subscription fee.’ Link: https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/resources/legal-technology/canlii-sues-ai-legal-assistant-caseway-ai-for-copyright-infringement/389633

‘It was a stranger who first brought home for me how big this year’s vibe shift was going to be. As we waited for a stuck elevator together in March, she told me she had just used ChatGPT to help her write a report for her marketing job. She hated writing reports because she didn’t…

‘Two of the forces that have most shaped the landscape in higher education over the last few years have been sustainability on one hand and Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the other. Bringing these phenomena together, this article examines the multifaceted sustainability challenges posed by integrating AI into legal education. The integration of AI into legal education has promised…

‘Workers are increasingly embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to optimise various aspects of their operations in the workplace. While AI offers new opportunities, it also presents unintended challenges that they must carefully navigate. This paper aims to develop a deeper understanding of workers’ experiences with interactions with automated agents (AA) in the workplace and provide actionable…

‘Legal theory can address two related key problems of alignment: pluralism and specification. Alignment researchers must determine how to specify what is concretely meant by vague principles like helpfulness and fairness and they must ensure that their techniques do not exclude alternative perspectives on life and values. The law faces these same problems. Leading legal…

‘The European Union (EU) stands as a pioneer in the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI), setting a global benchmark with its proactive approach to ensuring ethical and responsible AI development. Indeed, it seems we may witness a new Brussels effect, reminiscent of the influence wielded by the GDPR. The EU’s comprehensive and precautionary framework prioritises…

‘More than two thirds of lawyers say that professional bodies such as the Law Society should take responsibility for regulating the use of artificial intelligence in law – though 18% say that the government should have a role too. The findings emerge from the 2024 Future of Professionals report by legal information giant Thomson Reuters,…

‘AI will make legal services more accessible and affordable but it cannot take the place of legal advice or personal relationships and professional interactions, says Richard Atkinson.’ Link: https://www.cityam.com/ai-powered-law-must-make-justice-fair-and-equal-for-all/

‘Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have led to concerns about its potential misuse in education. As large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and Bard can generate human-like text, researchers and educators noted the potential redundancy of tasking students with writing academic essays. We aimed to explore if the two LLMs could generate unstructured…

‘The advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has sparked debates across various professions, including librarianship. This article explores whether AI can replace librarians by examining the essential skills required for the profession and evaluating the extent to which AI can replicate these skills. AI has the capacity to replace database searching skills but may struggle to…

‘The recently adopted Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) of the European Union (EU) claims to be based on a risk-based approach to avoid over-regulation and to respect the principle of legislative proportionality. This paper argues that risk-based regulation is indeed the right approach to AI regulation. At the same time, however, the paper shows that…

‘AI is ‘the defining technology of our generation’ according to a recent joint statement by the UK and US governments. We all understand that it is likely to impact library and information work profoundly, so it is important to try and be more than reactive and think strategically about the opportunities and problems it is…

‘Like the Metaverse and NFTs before it, it feels near impossible to follow tech news right now without hearing about AI. I understand it can get annoying: The tech is still in development, and everyone’s still figuring out the ethics of generating AI Art, or how to make it not suck. Then, there are the tech CEOs that promise big changes…

‘Scrraaape! The World Wide Web is creaking under the action of web crawling bots moving from server to server, harvesting data to take back to their hives where hungry generative AI models await.’ Link: https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/commentary-and-opinion/great-e-scrape-clarity-needed-over-generative-ai-training/5121343.article

‘As a powerful and rapidly advancing dual-use technology, AI offers both immense benefits and worrisome risks. In response, governing bodies around the world are developing a range of regulatory AI laws and policies. This paper compares three distinct approaches taken by the EU, China and the US. Within the US, we explore AI regulation at…

‘This article examines the role of human agency within two competing regulatory paradigms: law and technological management. It sketches both paradigms and suggests that the direction of regulatory travel in familiar jurisdictions is from the former towards the latter. It then examines the possible effect of this transition upon human agency. It defends a general…

‘In late October, News Corp filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI, a popular AI search engine. At first glance, this might seem unremarkable. After all, the lawsuit joins more than two dozen similar cases seeking credit, consent, or compensation for the use of data by AI developers. Yet this particular dispute is different, and it might be…

‘A few weeks from now, ChatGPT — the chatbot that propelled generative artificial intelligence into the mainstream — will celebrate its second anniversary.’ Link: https://www.ft.com/content/8dbeecee-c242-4b22-987b-96b492f27d1e

‘The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in research holds promising benefits as well as potential threats. In a fascinating webinar titled Research integrity and AI: Navigating challenges and leveraging potential, Springer Nature’s Director of Research Integrity, Chris Graf, discusses research integrity, AI tools to detect fraudulent manuscripts, and the importance of collaboration in combating scientific…

‘In early 2020, the New York Times reported that ‘a little-known start-up helps law enforcement match photos of unknown people to their online images’. It was revealed that this start-up, Clearview AI, was operating a facial recognition app that could find the public photos of individuals when a picture of them is uploaded on it, thanks…

‘The analysis of liability aspects facing Artificial Intelligence (‘AI’)-generated outputs under copyright and related rights has been overlooked compared to other issues connected to the development and use of AI. This study fills this gap by exploring pertinent questions under international, EU and UK law. Specifically, the study tackles actionable reproduction, allocation of liability, and…

‘In this Q&A, MIT researchers discuss the proper use of AI in schools and policy recommendations for effective learning.’ Link: https://openlearning.mit.edu/news/what-you-need-know-about-ai-classroom

‘Uncertainty around AI takes different shapes and forms, but we can boil it down to three main categories that every manager should consider: state, effect and response uncertainty. State uncertainty occurs when managers lack sufficient information to predict market trends and changes.’ Link: https://hbr.org/2024/10/a-toolkit-to-help-you-manage-uncertainty-around-ai

‘ChatGPT can now search the web for up-to-date answers to a user’s queries, OpenAI announced today.’ Link: https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/10/31/1106472/chatgpt-now-lets-you-search-the-internet/

‘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