TY - JOUR

T1 - Artificial Intelligence and Legal Disruption: A New Model for Analysis

AU - Liu, Hin-Yan

AU - Maas, Matthijs Michiel

AU - Danaher, John

AU - Scarcella, Luisa

AU - Lexer, Michaela

AU - Van Rompaey, Léonard

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly expected to disrupt the ordinary functioning of society. From how we fight wars or govern society, to how we work and play, and from how we create to how we teach and learn, there is almost no field of human activity which is believed to be entirely immune from the impact of this emerging technology. This poses a multifaceted problem when it comes to designing and understanding regulatory responses to AI. This article aims to: (i) defend the need for a novel conceptual model for understanding the systemic legal disruption caused by new technologies such as AI; (ii) to situate this model in relation to preceding debates about the interaction of regulation with new technologies (particularly the ‘cyberlaw’ and ‘robolaw’ debates); and (iii) to set out a detailed model for understanding the legal disruption precipitated by AI, examining both pathways stemming from new affordances that can give rise to a regulatory ‘disruptive moment’, as well as the Legal Development, Displacement or Destruction that can ensue. The article proposes that this model of legal disruption can be broadly generalisable to understanding the legal effects and challenges of other emerging technologies. Thus, while our model of legal disruption is crafted in response to the specific regulatory challenges raised by AI, we believe that, with minor modifications, this model can be usefully deployed to understand the challenges raised by future emerging technologies, and to structure regulatory responses to those challenges.

AB - Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly expected to disrupt the ordinary functioning of society. From how we fight wars or govern society, to how we work and play, and from how we create to how we teach and learn, there is almost no field of human activity which is believed to be entirely immune from the impact of this emerging technology. This poses a multifaceted problem when it comes to designing and understanding regulatory responses to AI. This article aims to: (i) defend the need for a novel conceptual model for understanding the systemic legal disruption caused by new technologies such as AI; (ii) to situate this model in relation to preceding debates about the interaction of regulation with new technologies (particularly the ‘cyberlaw’ and ‘robolaw’ debates); and (iii) to set out a detailed model for understanding the legal disruption precipitated by AI, examining both pathways stemming from new affordances that can give rise to a regulatory ‘disruptive moment’, as well as the Legal Development, Displacement or Destruction that can ensue. The article proposes that this model of legal disruption can be broadly generalisable to understanding the legal effects and challenges of other emerging technologies. Thus, while our model of legal disruption is crafted in response to the specific regulatory challenges raised by AI, we believe that, with minor modifications, this model can be usefully deployed to understand the challenges raised by future emerging technologies, and to structure regulatory responses to those challenges.

UR - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17579961.2020.1815402

M3 - Journal article

VL - 12

SP - 205

EP - 258

JO - Law, Innovation and Technology

JF - Law, Innovation and Technology

SN - 1757-9961

IS - 2

ER -