Law Commons^™

An Introduction To Personal Growth Bets: Using Contract Law To Lose Weight And Quit Smoking, Max Raskin, Jack Millman

Notre Dame Journal on Emerging Technologies

Self-improvement is hard. Whether losing weight or quitting smoking, individuals have a difficult time honoring their commitments, especially if the only person they are disappointing is themselves. In this Article, we introduce a new legal mechanism for incentivizing personal growth. We describe this mechanism as a personal growth contract, which allows an individual to make an enforceable agreement with either a counterparty or himself with the aim of self-improvement. We propose the use of smart contracts to help execute unilateral personal growth contracts. Our conclusion is that personal growth contracts should be presumptively legal, provided they do not violate some …

Two Visions Of Digital Sovereignty, Sujit Raman

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

No abstract provided.

A Trusted Framework For Cross-Border Data Flows, Alex Joel

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), in cooperation with the Tech, Law and Security Program (TLS) of the American University Washington College of Law, and with support from Microsoft, convened a Global Taskforce to Promote Trusted Sharing of Data comprising experts from civil society, academia, and industry to submit proposals for harmonizing approaches to global data use and sharing. Former US Ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and GMF Distinguished Fellow Karen Kornbluh and Microsoft Chief Privacy Officer and Corporate Vice President Julie Brill co-chaired the taskforce; TLS Senior Project Director Alex Joel …

Automated Vehicles, Moral Hazards & The "Av Problem", William H. Widen

Articles

No abstract provided.

Sharing And Caring: Creating A Culture Of Constructive Criticism In Computational Legal Studies, Corinna Coupette, Dirk Hartung

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

We introduce seven foundational principles for creating a culture of constructive criticism in computational legal studies. Beginning by challenging the current perception of papers as the primary scholarly output, we call for a more comprehensive interpretation of publications. We then suggest to make these publications computationally reproducible, releasing all of the data and all of the code all of the time, on time, and in the most functioning form feasible. Once all materials are made available by default, we invite constructive criticism in all phases of the publication life cycle. We posit that our proposals will help form our field, …

Towards A Strengthening Of Non-Interference, Sovereignty, And Human Rights From Foreign Cyber Meddling In Democratic Electoral Processes, Francesco Seatzu, Nicolás Carrillo-Santarelli

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

States have resorted to meddling in the elections of their counterparts throughout history. Recently, though, there has been an exponential increased in the use of the possibilities provided by technology. Attention to this phenomenon has deservedly grown quickly and exponentially. This has led to debates focusing on the adequacy of international legal rules and general principles to respond to foreign cyber election interference. In many of these debates some have expressed doubts and skepticism about the adequacy of current international law to confront foreign election interference through cyber means. There have also been disagreements about the applicable standards to fight …

Maritime Collision Regulations As A Structure For Space Travel, Swathi Paruchuru

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The exploration of space via manned and unmanned missions has been almost constant since the mid-20th century. With developing technology and the advent of private actors in space travel, the emerging problem of space traffic requires some form of guidelines in order to prevent collisions and continue the peaceful use of space. Space Traffic Management is an emerging field with new theories still being posited. This Note examines the ways in which maritime Collision Regulations (COLREGs) can be used as a guideline to create infrastructure for the control of traffic in space, regarding both satellites and general space debris. This …

Ethics At The Speed Of Business, James A. Doppke Jr.

DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal

This paper discusses several ways in which the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct, and the Illinois Supreme Court Rules, construct barriers that prevent lawyers and businesses from accomplishing reasonable commercial goals. Often, those barriers arise from outdated concepts, or terminology that does not reflect current business realities. The paper argues for the amendment of specific Rules to enhance lawyers’ and businesses’ respective abilities to conduct their affairs more efficiently, without sacrificing public protection in the process.

The Starting Is The Hardest Part: Using Chatgpt To Overcome Writer’S Block, Margie Alsbrook

Incorporating ChatGPT in the Legal Research & Writing Classroom

We all know that editing a draft, even a bad draft, is easier than starting from scratch with a blank page. Even if ChatGPT produces something you hate, the draft produced by the software can “unstick” us and our students and jump start a surge of productive work. With editing this eventually leads us to good work product, and that work product will likely be better because we started earlier and went through a more thoughtful process. The presentation would also include ways in which ChatGPT can help LRW professors with some of the parts of the job that we …

Move Over Wright & Miller--Is Chatgpt The Only Secondary Source You Will Ever Need? Spoiler Alert...It's Not!, Jacob Waldo, Susan O. Winters

Incorporating ChatGPT in the Legal Research & Writing Classroom

AI tools like ChatGPT are increasingly widespread, and despite an uncertain future due to a rapidly evolving technology landscape, they are likely here to stay. Many of the digital tools used by law students and lawyers will soon be incorporating sophisticated AI technology into their platforms. Students already use ChatGPT to brainstorm, proofread their papers (or write them entirely), summarize information, and more. Failing to integrate ChatGPT into the legal research curriculum not only risks diminishing our professional authenticity with students but could also lead to the devaluation of traditional legal research skills in favor of convenient, albeit less reliable …

Scheherazade, Chatgpt, And Me: Storytelling And Ai, Tracy L. M. Norton

Incorporating ChatGPT in the Legal Research & Writing Classroom

Humans developed language to tell stories. Gesturing, demonstration, and vocalization worked for communicating instructions or basic information. But establishing and maintaining community required story, and story required language. Our desire to tell better stories and share them more widely has led to the creation of art forms from simple guitar ballads to epic motion pictures and intricate first-person video games. So it’s no wonder that, in the era of generative artificial intelligence, storytellers would be among the first to put AI to work. Storytellers have been using AI for years already to develop stories, which means that AI has itself …

The Case For Iterative Legal Writing Practice With Chatgpt, Joseph Regalia

Incorporating ChatGPT in the Legal Research & Writing Classroom

In this session, Professor Joe Regalia will share his work developing legal-writing education tools that leverage GPT technology. He will also share best practices for creating assessments, exercises, and activities for your own students that are tailored to how and what you teach in the classroom.

Much of this presentation will focus on case studies and live, hands-on examples (given this is virtual) so that we can spend most of the time learning by doing together.

An Immodest Proposal: Ai, Llms, And The Case For A Standalone Legal Research Requirement, Nicholas Mignanelli, Susan Drisko Zago, Jordan Jefferson, Sarah C. Slinger

Incorporating ChatGPT in the Legal Research & Writing Classroom

The legal research course is over a century old. As a law school subject, it predates many doctrinal courses, as well as the advent of clinical legal education. It is several decades older than its sister subject, legal writing. In spite of its age and obvious importance, the place of the legal research course in the law school curriculum remains contested. While some law faculties recognize the value of legal research instruction and require a standalone legal research course in the first year, the vast majority combine it with legal writing (often over the objections of legal writing instructors and …

Chatgpt In A Contract Drafting Class, Ben Fernandez, Kristen Hardy

Incorporating ChatGPT in the Legal Research & Writing Classroom

Our presentation will discuss the impact of ChatGPT on contract drafting pedagogy. Specifically, we will examine ChatGPT’s basis of knowledge and whether it has sufficient theoretical foundation to be used as a pedagogical tool; whether ChatGPT’s practical application supports proven methods of instructional delivery; and ChatGPT’s functionality as an assessment tool.

1. ChatGPT’s basis of knowledge and whether it has sufficient theoretical foundation to be used as a pedagogical tool

Our presentation will compare the pretraining of ChatGPT and to the typical Contract Drafting pedagogy. We will start by showing the program on a screen and asking it how it …

What Did I Miss? A Demonstration Of The Differences Between Chatgpt-4 And 3.5 That Impact Legal Research And Writing, Laura Killinger, Leslie A. Street

Incorporating ChatGPT in the Legal Research & Writing Classroom

Many news sources are raving about how much more advanced ChatGPT-4 is than 3.5. You may have heard that ChatGPT-4 outscored 90% of test takers on the Uniform Bar Exam, while ChatGPT 3.5 only outscored 10% of test takers. But what does this mean for teaching legal research and writing? In this presentation, we will compare specific examples of ChatGPT 3.5 (the free version many of us tried in the spring) and ChatGPT-4 (the paid version released in March).

“You’Ve Got A Friend In Me”: Helping Students Help Ai, Brad Charles, Mark Cooney

Incorporating ChatGPT in the Legal Research & Writing Classroom

ChatGPT and its family of generative tools may seem new, but the process that ChatGPT imitates is as old as Egyptian papyri: The end-user still had to adapt the form text to each person’s unique situation.

Similarly, modern attorneys may use AI to adapt legal documents to their clients’ needs. But they must also learn how to spot problems in AI-generated documents — omissions, wrongful additions, inaccurate law, legalese, and poor typography. They need to instruct ChatGPT or other generative AI to continue revising until the document reflects best practices.

In short, our students as future attorneys need to know …

Growth Beyond Its Limits - How Much Growth Is Too Much For The Purpose Of The Local Government Antitrust Act Of 1984?, Katherine Stern

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Meta Oversight Board's Human Rights Future, Laurence R. Helfer, Molly K. Land

Cardozo Law Review

Responses to the new Oversight Board created by Facebook (now Meta) have run the gamut from enthusiastic to overtly suspicious. Many observers are highly skeptical of the Board's ability to hold Meta accountable or to protect the company's users. Much of this skepticism is based on a misplaced analogy between the Board and domestic courts. We argue, in contrast, that the core challenges and opportunities that the Oversight Board faces are similar to those confronted by international human rights tribunals. Analyzing the Oversight Board as a de facto human rights tribunal sheds light on the strengths and weaknesses of its …

Data Is The New Gold: A Singapore Perspective On The Duty Of Care Concerning A Dataset’S Role In Contributing To Bias And Ai Hallucinations, Daniel Seah

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Amidst the trends and advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques, the dataset’s key role in creating AI harms is a constant. Yet the literature’s attention is typically focussed on the machinelearning’s role, from which the dataset’s role is examined usually in terms of its potential for bias. Datasets also contribute to AI hallucinations. Again, the literature focuses on the composite roles of datasets and AI models in hallucinations, in isolation from a dataset’s contributory role in creating bias. Therefore, the overlapping and distinctive roles of datasets, as a dual contributor, are understudied in the literature. Through the legal concept of …

Cyber Plungers: Colonial Pipeline And The Case For An Omnibus Cybersecurity Legislation, Asaf Lubin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The May 2021 ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline was a wake-up call for a federal administration slow to realize the dangers that cybersecurity threats pose to our critical national infrastructure. The attack forced hundreds of thousands of Americans along the east coast to stand in endless lines for gas, spiking both prices and public fears. These stressors on our economy and supply chains triggered emergency proclamations in four states, including Georgia. That a single cyberattack could lead to a national emergency of this magnitude was seen by many as proof of even more crippling threats to come. Executive Director of …

Complying With New And Existing Biometric Data Privacy Laws, Ariel Latzer

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

After providing an overview of the history behind biometric information, this article will discuss the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act (BIPA)—which laid the foundation for biometric privacy regulations in the United States—and then discuss the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and its amendments in the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). It will also briefly touch on biometric information regulations in other states and then delve into how some notable companies are currently using individuals’ biometric information to give readers a general idea of what is happening to their personal information and highlight areas businesses should take note of in order to …

Future-Proofing U.S. Laws For War Crimes Investigations In The Digital Era, Rebecca Hamilton

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Advances in information technology have irrevocably changed the nature of war crimes investigations. The pursuit of accountability for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community now invariably requires access to digital evidence. The global reach of platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter means that much of that digital evidence is held by U.S. social media companies, and access to it is subject to the U.S. Stored Communications Act.

This is the first Article to look at the legal landscape facing international investigators seeking access to digital evidence regarding genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression. It …

Aclp - State Broadband Profile - Tennessee (July 2023), New York Law School

Reports and Resources

No abstract provided.

Fair’S Fair: How Public Benefit Considerations In The Fair Use Doctrine Can Patch Bias In Artificial Intelligence Systems, Patrick K. Lin

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) expands relentlessly despite well documented examples of bias in AI systems, from facial recognition failing to differentiate between darker-skinned faces to hiring tools discriminating against female candidates. These biases can be introduced to AI systems in a variety of ways; however, a major source of bias is found in training datasets, the collection of images, text, audio, or information used to build and train AI systems. This Article first grapples with the pressure copyright law exerts on AI developers and researchers to use biased training data to build algorithms, focusing on the potential risk …

Protection And Prevention: The Shortcomings Of U.S. Copyright Law In Combatting Cultural Appropriation In The Fashion Industry, Luke E. Steffe

IP Theory

American fashion represents an eclectic patchwork of diverse experiences and ideas; however, drawing upon Indigenous communities’ cultural identities and sacred traditions can easily cross the line between inspiration and appropriation. In reality, designs derived from culturally significant symbols, which have been stolen from Indigenous communities and stripped of their meaning, flood the American market. From runway shows to sports teams’ mascots to undergarment designs, these manifestations of cultural appropriation occur legally under the existing U.S. copyright regime, and adaptations to the current, Westernized system of intellectual property (IP) rights must integrate Indigenous perceptions of communal ownership with respect to their …

The Social Value Of Intellectual Property, Alina Ng Boyte

IP Theory

No abstract provided.

Fair Use Failing The First Amendment? How The Parody And Satire Dichotomy May Be Stunting Political Discourse, Megan L. Wheeler

IP Theory

The First Amendment, in certain circumstances, is used as a defense to “protect[] satire and parody as a form of free speech and expression.”2 When it comes to jokes, “[q]uestions . . . have arisen in case law [pertaining to satire typically] concerning libel, emotional distress and copyright infringement.”3 Further, in a right of publicity claim, “[t]he First Amendment clearly protects all but the most intrusive coverage of news, or details of a person’s private life, such as are reported in the tabloid press or talk shows.”4 This demonstrates that humor and satire have a close relationship with the First …

Encouraging Public Access To Pharmaceuticals Through Modified Protection Of Clinical Trial Data, Scott M. Nolan Ii

IP Theory

Part I of this Article investigates the development of pharmaceuticals and clinical trial data with a focus on patent and data protection. Part II evaluates the effects of protection and the challenges it poses to widespread public pharmaceutical access. Part III discusses two scholarly approaches to the public access issue that focus on clinical data protection and their associated challenges. In light of these scholarly works, Part IV suggests a new approach to clinical trial data protection that aims to improve public pharmaceutical access while maintaining the incentives to invent for drug developers.

Keynote Address, Sultan Meghji

Washington and Lee Law Review

Keynote address presented virtually at the Washington and Lee Law Review's 54th Annual Lara D. Gass Symposium: The Future of E-Commerce: Is It on a Blockchain? on Friday, March 17, 2023 in Lexington, Virginia.

Mitigating The Legal Challenges Associated With Blockchain Smart Contracts: The Potential Of Hybrid On-Chain/Off-Chain Contracts, Niloufer Selvadurai

Washington and Lee Law Review

Tantamount with the increasing application of blockchain technologies around the world, the use of blockchain-based smart contracts has rapidly risen. In a “smart contract,” computer protocols automatically facilitate, verify, and enforce arrangements made between parties on a blockchain. Such smart contracts offer a variety of commercial benefits, notably immutability and increased efficiency facilitated by removing the need for a trusted intermediary. However, as discussed in recent legal scholarship, it is difficult for smart contracts to uphold certain fundamental principles of contract law. Translating concepts of individual intention and responsibility into the decentralized space of blockchain is problematic. Aggregating such individual …