AI and the Law

In this episode Katherine Apps KC discusses online safety and online harms with Jessica Zucker, Director in the Online Safety Group at OFCOM, the UK’s communications regulator. They discuss the nature of online harms and both the existing legal powers that apply to UK established Video Sharing Platforms, such as TikTok and OnlyFans. They also discuss Ofcom’s new powers under the UK’s Online Safety Act 2023 and key policy and legal considerations related to issues such as the spread of misinformation, freedom of expression, proportionality, and international convergence and divergence in regulatory standards and the need for those in tech and regulation to work together.

In this episode David Mitchell speaks to Hanna Basha and Mark Jones of Payne Hicks Beach about tackling deepfakes on behalf of clients who are victims of different types of AI-generated deepfakes ranging from image based sexual abuse, commercial exploitation and political disinformation. Drawing on their respective expertise in civil and criminal law, Hanna and Mark discuss the practical issues posed by deepfakes, the legal tools available to victims and shortcomings in the current legal protections.

In this episode Katherine Apps KC speaks with environmental law pioneer Stephen Tromans KC about similarities, differences and lessons which can be learned for AI from the development of environmental, nuclear, chemicals and contaminated land law. They touch on the balance between international and domestic legal toolmaking, the effectiveness, or otherwise, of human rights and the common law and how law can best work in the context of rapidly developing technology and complex market pressures.

In this episode Katherine Apps KC speaks with Jennie Thelen about the recent judgment of the First Tier Tribunal decision allowing Clearview AI’s appeal against the Information Commissioner’s fine for unlawful data processing for the development, marketing and use of AI software to “scrape” facial data from the internet and social media and for its use in facial recognition software. The Tribunal judgment is one of the first judgments in the EU to consider the scope of the GDPR territoriality provisions for personal data processing relating to monitoring of behaviour, and the carve outs for use in law enforcement by states and one of the first appeals to be heard against the fines levied on Clearview AI by multiple regulators across the world. Katherine and Jennie discuss extra territoriality more generally and the implications of the judgment for software which learns from worldwide data.

In this episode David Mitchell speaks with Barbora Bukovska from international freedom of expression organisation Article 19 about AI, freedom of expression and civil liberties.  David and Barbora discuss the recent European Court of Human rights judgment on the use of AI facial recognition on the Moscow Metro in Nikolay Glukhin v Russia (application no. 11519/20) in which Article 19 intervened, the proposed EU AI Act, and how other jurisdictions around the world are addressing facial recognition technologies.

In this episode Katherine Apps KC speaks with Imogen Ireland, Senior Associate at global law firm, Hogan Lovells about AI and Intellectual Property law. Katherine and Imogen talk about who owns and creates AI generated material in copyright law and whether AI can create inventions that could be protected by patent law.

They discuss how these issues have arisen in recent cases and how the Courts’ analysis use concepts from other areas of law. They discuss the sorts of practical issue which arise when buying licenses of products which use AI and questions clients can ask so as to mitigate the risks and their predictions for the future.

In this episode Eimear McCann, Commercial Director at Trial view, discusses with Katherine Apps KC the uses of AI in commercial litigation software, both to mine large volumes of data and to generate answers, documents such as chronologies and help make commercial litigation more efficient. Eimear and Katherine also discuss the requirements of different Court rules and wider issues around protecting client confidentiality and what is different between working in the tech world and the legal world.

In this episode Patrick Brodie, Head of Employment, Engagement and Equality at law firm, RPC, discusses with Katherine Apps KC the issues raised by use of large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT in a law firm environment. Katherine and Patrick discuss what LLMS are, what firms need to think about when drafting AI policies, what LLMs could do in a law firm context, how AI will impact on the training solicitors of the future as well as wider reflections on the nature of being a lawyer, how we deal with fears, worries and opportunities posed by AI, working life generally, and what makes humans different from computers.

In this episode Bernie Maier a visiting Professor of Law at Kings College London in Cyberlaw shares his thoughts with David Mitchell on whether the teaching and learning of law will be changed by generative AI and if so, how. 

In this episode Professor Catherine Barnard, Professor of EU and Employment Law at the University of Cambridge discusses with Katherine Apps KC how discrimination claims could be litigated in the context of the use of AI.  Catherine discusses existing case law on algorithmic determinations and how the elements of a discrimination claim could be demonstrated by a claimant or organisation. Catherine and Katherine also discuss potential defences and liability by companies and public authority for contractors’ software and how this is likely to be approached.  Catherine also discusses the new proposal for an EU Platform Work directive and the structure used for regulation of algorithmic performance measures and whether it could become a blueprint used in other areas.