Simon Chesterman's Blog

[Straits Times] University marks the time when students take more responsibility for their educational journey. Is that the best time to impart values? Or the worst?   Recent debates in Singapore about cheating by aspiring lawyers during the bar exam could be the tip of the iceberg. Around the world, the swift move to online […]

[THE] Academics are agonising over the wrong elements of online education. They should be thinking about active versus passive learning.   Over the course of the pandemic, educators – like everyone else – were forced to rethink the way in which we do our job. And, like most people, we responded by seeing how we […]

Computers know everything and artificial intelligence is acquiring the skills to apply that knowledge. What is there left to teach?   Once upon a time, education meant the transmission of knowledge. Teachers and professors like me were in possession of that knowledge, and we were paid by students (or their parents, or the state) to […]

[Nikkei] Last week, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization announced that it had concluded the first global agreement on the ethics of artificial intelligence. Its Director-General, Audrey Azoulay, declared that this was a “major answer” to the need for rules to ensure that AI benefits humanity. The caveats came thick and fast. The […]

[ICLQ] It is a curious feature of the history of artificial intelligence (AI) that its successes have often been measured in games. Early programs were taught bounded problems like tic-tac-toe and draughts. These were novelties, but the defeat of chess world champion Gary Kasparov by IBM’s Deep Blue in 1997 was presented as a threat […]

The increasing importance of technology in the practice and content of law can hardly be overstated. The practice of law is now fused with technology; law firms are digitising at a rate that can only increase. At the same time, the content of law is having to adapt: courts are being asked whether an app […]

Should we regulate artificial intelligence? Can we? From self-driving cars and high-speed trading to algorithmic decision-making, the way we live, work, and play is increasingly dependent on AI systems that operate with diminishing human intervention. These fast, autonomous, and opaque machines offer great benefits — and pose significant risks. This book examines how our laws […]

Self-regulation and national regulation of AI won’t be enough. Even the EU can’t save us. The case for an International Artificial Intelligence Agency.   Earlier this year, the European Union proposed a draft regulation to protect the fundamental rights of its citizens from certain applications of artificial intelligence (AI). In June, the Biden Administration launched […]

[Straits Times] Could artificial intelligence regulate itself? As artificial intelligence (AI) transforms modern life, regulators around the world are grappling with how to reap its benefits while minimizing its risks. Earlier this year, the European Union proposed a draft regulation on certain aspects of AI. Last month, China adopted its new state-centric Data Security Law, […]

James Crawford, who passed away on Monday, was the most influential Australian international lawyer of all time. Many of us in the field hope for some measure of success as scholars, advocates, or perhaps as a judge. Crawford’s greatness in all three areas might have been infuriating had he not retained his humour, his modesty and […]