Konrad Lachmayer: Artificial Intelligence and the Concept of Law – Some insights from autonomous and self-learning driving

Regulating artificial intelligence by legal means challenges the foundations of law. Law addresses human beings, groups and societies. While criminal law is based on a concept of guilt, civil law creates legal attribution via liability. Regulatory approaches try to deal with artificial intelligence in the same way as they deal with human beings. Addressing intelligent systems, robots and machines by legal means shakes up the foundations of law.

The presentation will evaluate the concept of law. The following questions will be discussed: How can law address artificial intelligence? What is the (still existing) potential of law and what are its limits? How should law and code interrelate? Is it necessary to re-conceptualise law or to regulate artificial intelligence beyond law by other means?

About the speaker:

Konrad Lachmayer is professor of public law, European law and foundations of law at the Sigmund Freud University in Vienna and visiting fellow at Durham Law School (UK). He studied law at the University of Vienna and was visiting researcher at the University of Cambridge, the Max-Planck Institute of International Law in Heidelberg and the Central European University in Budapest. In his research he focuses on comparative constitutional law, digitalization of law as well as Austrian public law.