Conference The Death of Law? Machines, Technology and Algorithms Deciding
About
Digitalization and artificial intelligence are deeply changing the landscape of our way of life, including the field of law. We are confronted with an increasing digitalization of legal processes that, while making the legal institutions more effective, are in a sense about to change their rationale and mode of operation. As a matter of fact, rules are replaced by algorithms, making them a sort of preventive measures or a device against a possible deviant behaviour. Algorithms and legal provisions guided by them do not seem to allow for non-compliance, thus making the question about their application or disapplication obsolete. A law made in this way by algorithms will no longer address citizens, that is free persons insofar as they essentially have the capacity of disobeying the rules or reinterpreting them, but only subjects whose free will and faculty of judgement is denied.
The law as we know it today is the outcome of a “revolution” described by Harold J. Berman that, starting in the late Middle Age, was more or less fulfilled in Modernity after the French Revolution. Modernity is above all a process where the law is emancipated from hierarchical social structures and religious dependencies and projects itself as a universal mode of regulation that claims to be a moment forward in a teleological journey towards justice. There is an intrinsic claim to justice and progress. However, Modernity is the holder of two versions of universalizability: one equates universal law with universally acceptable rules, the other one means by universal law no more than generally causally applicable laws. Modernity related to technique gets the upper hand as in this new millennium technique, technology, machine have accelerated their hegemony. Nature was cracked open in the last century as nuclear fission was discovered leading to a new type of energy and cloning of biological organisms became possible. Finally, the development of computer science has raised the claim of an artificial intelligence that might be able to replace human operations. All these three developments put our practice and concept of law in question. With the rise of artificial intelligence and the increasing dominance of technology, there is a growing concern about the erosion of empathy, free will, and the very essence of human subjectivity. Universality as general causality is replacing universality as general acceptability.
This landscape pushes towards a radical transformation of our practice of law towards a destination that might plausibly be labelled as “death of law”. This conference seeks to assess the meaning and consequences of such possible “death of law” and whether this “death” really is the final destination of our legal culture and world. How much “disenchantment” of the world (Weber), an iron cage as the ruling of machines and algebraic formulae, how much “nudity” of the humans (Agamben), reduced just to manipulable bunches of genes and cells, can the law tolerate? Our conference will face this issue with contributions of distinguished scholars from Europe and America such as Gerald Postema, Guliano Amato, Roger Brownsword, Francisco J. Ansuátegui Roig, Marjolein Lanzing, Jaan Aru, Marina Lalatta Costerbosa and others.
Register here!
3-4th of October, 2024
Tallinn University (Maximum)
Programme
Thursday, 3rd October
10:00 Opening words/Vice-Rector for Research
Professor of Data Analysis Katrin Niglas
First Session: Is Law withering away?
Chairing: Prof. Massimo La Torre
10:10 Prof. Giuliano Amato / TBC / online
10:40 Prof. Roger Brownsword / Law’s Imperfect Governance: Problems, Challenges, and Prospects
11:10 Coffee break
11:30 Prof. Gerald Postema / AI in Law or AI in the Place of Law?
12:00 Prof. Herlinde Pauer-Studer / The Resilience of Law
12:30 Discussion
13:30 Coffee break
Second Session: Rules and Algorithms
Chairing: Indrek Grauberg
14:30 PhD Madis Ernits / Artificial Intelligence Act and Courts
15:00 Prof. José Ignacio Solar Cayón / Artificial intelligence-assisted judicial decisions in Spanish legislation
15:30 Coffee break
15:50 Prof. Luisa Torchia / Algorithmic legality and automated administrative decision / online
16:20 Prof. Lehte Roots / Algorithms and law – do computers understand law?
16:50 Discussion
Friday, 4th October
Third Session: Rights, Democracy, and Machines
Chairing: Prof. Katrin Niglas
10:00 Prof. Francisco J. Ansuátegui Roig / Technology and new normativities
10:30 Prof. Mart Susi / Non-coherence theory of digital human rights
11:00 Coffee break
11:20 Prof. Leif Kalev / Digitalization and democracy
11:50 Prof. Marjolein Lanzing / (To be adjusted)
12:20 Discussion
13:30 Coffee break
Fourth Session: Humans as Obsolete Actors?
Chairing: Prof. Mart Susi
14:30 Prof. William Lucy / Human Agency in the Face of Technological Management
15:00 Prof. Jaan Aru / What’s next for humans?
15:30 Coffee break
15:50 PhD Oliver Laas / TBC
16:20 Prof. Marina Lalatta Costerbosa / In Search of Lost Imagination. Günther Anders’ Concept of homo machina
16:50 Discussion
17:40 Closing words
Scholars involved:
Giuliano Amato has had a distinguished career in both academia and politics. He studied law at the University of Pisa, graduating in 1960, and earned a Master’s degree in Comparative Law from Columbia Law School in 1962. Amato served as a professor of Comparative Constitutional Law at the Sapienza University of Rome where he was awarded an honorary doctorate in Political Studies in 2022. He is a Professor Emeritus at the European University Institute in Florence. Amato has served as a judge on the Italian Constitutional Court from 2013 to 2022 and his extensive involvement in both national and international political spheres includes serving twice as Italy’s Prime Minister and holding various ministerial roles.
Throughout his academic career, Amato has authored numerous books and articles on a range of topics, including personal liberties, economy, comparative government and public institutions.
Roger Brownsword is a Professor of Law at King’s College London interested in regulation of technology and law and bioethics. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics and has been an academic lawyer for around 50 years. Throughout his career, Professor Brownsword has authored approximately 20 books, including his latest work, Law, Technology and Society―Re-imagining the Regulatory Environment, and contributed over 250 chapters and articles. He is the founding general editor of the journal Law, Innovation and Technology, and serves on the editorial boards of the Modern Law Review, the International Journal of Law and Information Technology, and the Journal of Law and the Biosciences.
From 2011 to 2015, he chaired the Ethics and Governance Council of UK Biobank. Additionally, he was a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics from 2004 to 2010. He has participated in working parties for the Academy of Medical Sciences on ‘drugs futures’ and for the Royal Society on neuroscience and the law, as well as on machine learning. Furthermore, he has provided expert advice to parliamentary committees on stem cells and hybrid embryos.
Gerald J. Postema is a Professor Emeritus at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) and has made significant contributions to the fields of legal and political philosophy and ethics. Postema completed his PhD at Cornell University in 1976 and began his teaching career at Johns Hopkins University in 1975 and joined the UNC-CH in 1980, where he taught philosophy and law until his retirement. Postema has received numerous accolades, including an honorary doctorate from the University of Athens in 2016 and the George J. Johnson Prize for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts and Humanities from UNC-CH in 2012. He is a former Guggenheim Fellow, Rockefeller Fellow (Bellagio), Medlin Fellow (National Humanities Center), Fellow of the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies, and Visiting Fellow at the European University Institute (Florence).
Among his many publications, some notable books include “Law’s Rule: The Nature, Value, and Viability of the Rule of Law” (2022), “Bentham and the Common Law Tradition” (2nd edition, 2019), and “Legal Philosophy in the Twentieth Century: The Common Law World” (2011). He has edited several significant volumes, such as the “Handbook of Legal Reasoning and Argumentation” (2018) and the twelve-volume “Treatise of General Jurisprudence and the Philosophy of Law” (2005-2016). His articles cover a wide range of topics, from professional ethics to jurisprudence and legal theory.
Herlinde Pauer-Studer is a Professor of Practical Philosophy and Ethics at the University of Vienna. She completed PhD in Philosophy at the University of Salzburg and has held several prestigious positions and fellowships, including being a Distinguished Visiting Austrian Chair Professor at Stanford University, a Fellow at the J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University, and a Fulbright Scholar at New York University. Her research focuses on rationality, practical reasoning, and the normative distortions within legal and moral frameworks.
Madis Ernits is a highly qualified legal expert with extensive experience in both national and international law. He currently serves as a seconded national expert at the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg. Ernits has held various significant positions, including judge at the Tartu Court of Appeal and ad hoc judge at the European Court of Human Rights. He has also been a lecturer in constitutional law at the University of Tartu. His academic achievements include a PhD in Law from the University of Tartu, and he has been actively involved in numerous international legal training programs and workshops
José Ignacio Solar Cayón is a Professor of Philosophy of Law. University of Cantabria, where he also serves as the General Secretary of the Social Council. His academic work focuses on the intersection of law and technology, particularly the implications of artificial intelligence in legal practices.
His work “La inteligencia artificial jurídica” examines the impact of AI on the legal profession, exploring various AI tools used in legal tasks such as automated decision-making, legal document drafting, and contract analysis. This book also discusses the broader social and labor implications of AI in law, including the emergence of legal tech industries and the reconfiguration of legal work. Additionally, his research topics range from the history of human rights to the ethical and legal challenges posed by technological advancements in the legal field.
Luisa Torchia holds a law degree from the University of Rome, specializing in Administrative Law and is currently a full professor of Administrative Law at the University of Roma Tre. Torchia has published extensively on topics related to public administration, constitutional law, and European administrative law. Her work often focuses on the modernization and reform of public administration, as well as the intersection between administrative and constitutional law.
She has contributed to various academic projects and legal reforms and has been involved in numerous academic and governmental committees. Her publications include a wide range of books and articles addressing administrative responsibilities, public power, and legal frameworks within the context of modern governance.
Lehte Roots has extensive expertise in European Union law, particularly in the areas of migration, asylum, citizenship, free movement, and equality law and policy within the European Union and Estonia. She earned her PhD from the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, Italy and is currently a Visiting Professor of International Law at Tallinn University. Roots has participated in numerous EU-wide research projects related to free movement, asylum, detention, and migration, conducted for the EU Commission and the EU Parliament. In addition to her academic positions, Roots has been active in the legal field, working as a lawyer, coordinator, and board member of the Estonian Refugee Council.
Francisco Javier Ansuátegui Roig is a professor at Charles III University of Madrid. His research and publications focus on the philosophy of law, theory of law, and human rights. Some notable works include “Orígenes doctrinales de la libertad de expresión” and “El positivismo jurídico neoinstitucionalista.” Ansuátegui Roig has also been involved in significant academic projects, such as the “History of Fundamental Rights,” a comprehensive multi-volume work directed alongside other distinguished scholars. He edits the journal “Derechos y Libertades” and has been actively engaged in various academic and editorial activities throughout his career.
Mart Susi is currently serving as a Professor of Human Rights Law at the School of Governance, Law and Society at Tallinn University. His academic career is marked by significant contributions to the study and promotion of human rights, particularly in the context of digital environments. Susi’s research includes significant work on the potential threats posed by artificial intelligence in content regulation and the importance of transparency and accountability in digital spaces. Susi holds a position as the leader of the Global Digital Human Rights Network (GDHRNet), where his work focuses on the intersection of human rights and digital technology. This network aims to enhance knowledge about human rights issues in the online world and develop methodologies for balancing conflicting rights and addressing online hate speech (GDHRNet). In addition to his teaching and research roles, Mart Susi was elected as a member of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights in 2022.
Leif Kalev is a Professor of Political Science at Tallinn University. His research interests encompass citizenship, democracy, state governance, migration policy, globalization, and transnationalization. Kalev has held several key positions at Tallinn University, including being the director of the Institute of Political Science and Governance from 2007 to 2012. He has also worked in the Estonian government, serving as the deputy secretary general on public order and migration policy and as the secretary general of the Ministry of the Interior. In addition to his roles in academia and government, Kalev was a visiting research fellow at the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale University.
Marjolein Lanzing is Assistant Professor Philosophy of Technology at the University of Amsterdam. She completed her PhD titled “The Transparent Self: A Normative Investigation of Changing Selves and Relationships in the Age of the Quantified Self” at the 4TU Center for Ethics and Technology, University of Technology Eindhoven. Her research primarily focuses on the ethical implications of digital technologies, privacy, and the impact of technology on personal identity and social relationships. Additionally, she is involved with the Platform for the Ethics and Politics of Technology at UvA, contributing to interdisciplinary research and discussions on the ethical and political aspects of technological advancements.
William Lucy serves as a Professor in the Durham Law School and Professor of Law in the Durham CELLS (Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences), previously holding professorships at the University of Manchester, Cardiff University, Keele University, and the University of Hull Law School. His academic journey includes undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in law, jurisprudence, and political philosophy. His research interests span adjudication and legal reasoning, legal philosophy, the philosophy of private law, and the normative standing of access to justice. Professor Lucy has supervised numerous doctoral students in the areas of private law subjects and legal philosophy. His notable publications include the monographs “Understanding and Explaining Adjudication” (1999) and “Philosophy of Private Law” (2007), both published by Oxford’s Clarendon Press. His latest book, “Law’s Judgement” (2017), was supported by the Leverhulme Trust.
Jaan Aru is an accomplished neuroscientist known for his research in the fields of consciousness and cognitive neuroscience. Currently he is holding the position of Associate Professor in Computational Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence in University of Tartu. Aru has made significant contributions to understanding the human brain, particularly in the context of artificial intelligence (AI) and the effects of online media. Aru’s research extends beyond traditional neuroscience to explore how digital environments and AI influence cognitive processes and behavior. Aru has also studied the impact of online media on the brain, particularly in children and teenagers. He is concerned with how extensive use of social media and other digital platforms can affect cognitive development, attention spans, and mental health. This research is part of a broader effort to understand the implications of digital technology on human behavior and to develop strategies for mitigating any negative effects.
Oliver Laas is a researcher and lecturer with a multidisciplinary background in philosophy, cultural theory, and graphic art. Laas is currently serving as Junior Lecturer of Philosophy at Tallinn University where he also recently completed his PhD in Philosophy with the thesis titled “Toward a Nominalist Theory of Virtuality”. Laas’s research spans various fields including metaphysics, philosophy of information, logic, semiotics, philosophy of technology, and game theory. His work is notable for its focus on the philosophical implications of contemporary issues in technology and information. His works discuss the broader implications of AI on society and the human condition.
Marina Lalatta Costerbosa is a full professor of Philosophy of Law at the University of Bologna’s Department of Philosophy and Communication. She has a diverse academic background, having first pursued a degree in philosophy with a focus on moral philosophy at the University of Bologna and then completing her doctorate in historical-political studies at the University of Turin. Her research spans several areas within philosophy of law and morality, particularly in how legal principles interact with ethical consideration. Her work also includes paradoxical aspects of law (such as those seen in Nazism and torture), bioethics, and violence against children. In addition to her academic roles, she has been involved in editorial activities and contributed to various scholarly journals.