Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence and the Law

This open access book presents an interdisciplinary, multi-authored, edited collection of chapters on Artificial Intelligence (‘AI’) and the Law. AI technology has come to play a central role in the modern data economy. Through a combination of increased computing power, the growing availability of data and the advancement of algorithms, AI has now become an umbrella term for some of the most transformational technological breakthroughs of this age. The importance of AI stems from both the opportunities that it offers and the challenges that it entails. While AI applications hold the promise of economic growth and efficiency gains, they also create significant risks and uncertainty. The potential and perils of AI have thus come to dominate modern discussions of technology and ethics – and although AI was initially allowed to largely develop without guidelines or rules, few would deny that the law is set to play a fundamental role in shaping the future of AI.

As thedebate over AI is far from over, the need for rigorous analysis has never been greater. This book thus brings together contributors from different fields and backgrounds to explore how the law might provide answers to some of the most pressing questions raised by AI. An outcome of the Católica Research Centre for the Future of Law and its interdisciplinary working group on Law and Artificial Intelligence, it includes contributions by leading scholars in the fields of technology, ethics and the law. 

Arlindo Oliveira obtained a BSc in EECS from Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) and a PhD from the University of California at Berkeley. He was a researcher at CERN, the Electronics Research Laboratory of UC Berkeley, and the Berkeley Cadence Laboratories. He is a distinguished professor of IST, president of INESC, member of the board of Caixa Geral de Depósitos and a researcher at INESC-ID. He authored several books and articles in the areas of algorithms, artificial intelligence, machine learning, bioinformatics, and computer architecture. He is a member of the Portuguese Academy of Engineering and a past president of IST, of INESC-ID, and of the Portuguese Association for Artificial Intelligence.

Clara Martins Pereira is Assistant Professor at Durham Law School. She is also Departmental Lecturer at Oxford Law Faculty and Invited Professor at Católica Lisbon School of Law. Clara holds a DPhil, an MPhil, and a Magister Juris from the University of Oxford, as well as an MSc in Law and Business and an LLB in Law from Católica Lisbon School of Law. Her research lies at the intersection of financial law and regulation, technological innovation, and sustainability. In addition to her academic work, Clara has also been working as a consultant for various international organisations including the World Bank and ICF.

Elsa Vaz de Sequeira is a Professor at Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Faculty of Law. She is the coordinator of the Lisbon Section of the Católica Research Centre for the Future of Law (CRCFL) and a co-editor of the Católica Law Review. She integrates the executive committee of the working group on Law and Artificial Intelligence. She was a legal advisor at the Ministry of Culture´s office. She teaches and develops research in private law, namely foundations of civil law and contract law. She has published books and articles on different issues of civil law, namely on civil liability, collision of rights, and co-ownership of rights.

Luís Barreto Xavier is an Invited Professor at Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Faculty of Law, in Lisbon, and an Of Counsel at Abreu Advogados. He was a senior consultant at the Prime Minister Legal Centre (CEJUR) and a legal clerk for a Constitutional Court Judge. At Católica, he founded and directed (2009-2018) a new unit, dedicated to international teaching and research: the Católica Global School of Law. His areas of expertise are Private International Law and Digital Law. He belongs to the executive committee of the working group on Law and Artificial Intelligence. Since 2019, he teaches a course on the Law of AI for undergraduate students. He is currently the President of the Knowledge Institute of Abreu Advogados.