Increasingly, algorithms are being used in legal processes from case analysis to sentencing recommendations and beyond. While these technologies offer the potential for efficiency and objectivity, concerns about transparency, bias, and the potential impact on due process are omnipresent. Striking a balance between leveraging the advantages of algorithmic tools and addressing ethical considerations is a critical task for legal systems worldwide. As the judiciary continues to navigate this complex problem, ongoing efforts are being made to refine algorithms, enhance accountability, and ensure that the application of technology aligns with principles of fairness and justice.
In this special in-person event, SRI Research Lead Anna Su will host a conversation between Nathalie Smuha, a legal scholar and philosopher at the KU Leuven Faculty of Law and Criminology, and Abdi Aidid, assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law on the topic of algorithmic decision-making in the judiciary.
Suggested reading:
Nathalie A. Smuha & Victoria Hendrickx, “AI and the Administration of Justice: taking ‘precedent analysis’ as a use case to assess the adequacy of the AI Act”, The Law, Ethics and Policy of AI Blog (2023)
John Tasioulas, "The Rule of Algorithm and the Rule of Law", Vienna Lectures on Legal Philosophy (2023)
Joanna Mazur, "Automated decision-making systems as a challenge for effective legal protection in European Union law", European Law Review, 46(2), 194–210, (2021)
About Nathalie Smuha
Nathalie A. Smuha is a legal scholar and philosopher at the KU Leuven Faculty of Law and Criminology, focusing on the intersection of law, philosophy, and technology. Her research spans EU and international law and examines legal and ethical questions on artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies. She is particularly interested in the impact of AI on human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. Smuha is the academic coordinator of the KU Leuven Summer School on the Law, Ethics, and Policy of AI, and a member of the KU Leuven Institute for Artificial Intelligence (Leuven.AI) and the Digital Society Institute. Since September 2023, she is also a part-time assistant professor of AI and law at the Center of IT and IP Law (CITIP) in Leuven.
During the 2023-2024 academic year, Smuha is taking up an Emile Noel Fellowship at the New York University School of Law, where she will be based at the Jean Monnet Center and Guarini Global Law & Tech. In the past, she has also taken up visiting positions at the University of Chicago (2023) and at the University of Birmingham (2021).
About Abdi Aidid
Abdi Aidid researches and teaches in the areas of civil procedure, torts, and law & technology at the University of Toronto.
He received his BA from the University of Toronto, his JD from Yale Law School, and his LLM from the Faculty of Law at U of T. Professor Aidid previously practiced litigation and arbitration at Covington & Burling LLP in New York City and most recently served as the VP, Legal Research at Blue J, where he oversaw the development of machine learning-enabled research and analytics tools.
Professor Aidid is a faculty affiliate at U of T’s Centre for Ethics and a member of the Ethics of AI Lab. Prior to joining the Faculty of Law full-time in 2021, he served as an adjunct professor.
About Anna Su
Anna Su's primary areas of research include the law and history of international human rights, comparative constitutional law, technology and international law, and law and religion at the University of Toronto. She is currently a research lead at the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society. She is also a Nootbaar Institute Fellow on Law and Religion at Pepperdine University School of Law.
Anna holds an SJD from Harvard Law School where her dissertation was awarded the John Laylin Prize for best paper in international law. She received her JD and AB degrees from the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. Prior to coming to Toronto, she held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy based in SUNY Buffalo Law School, and a graduate fellowship in ethics with the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. She worked as a law clerk for the Philippine Supreme Court and was a consultant to the Philippine government negotiating panel with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
She holds a cross-appointment at the Department of History (by courtesy). Visit Su’s SSRN page for all publications.
About the Schwartz Reisman Institute
Located at the University of Toronto, the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society’s mission is to deepen our knowledge of technologies, societies, and what it means to be human by integrating research across traditional boundaries and building human-centred solutions that really make a difference. The integrative research we conduct rethinks technology’s role in society, the contemporary needs of human communities, and the systems that govern them. We’re investigating how best to align technology with human values and deploy it accordingly. The human-centred solutions we build are actionable and practical, highlighting the potential of emerging technologies to serve the public good while protecting citizens and societies from their misuse. We want to make sure powerful technologies truly make the world a better place—for everyone.
Nathalie Smuha
Abdi Aidid