Dentons, the Future of Law Lab at U of T's Faculty of Law, and Blue J are pleased to invite you to a networking reception and panel discussion, Oct. 26, on The Legal Singularity and the Future of Law. This event is a celebration of Professors Abdi Aidid and Benjamin Alarie's recently published The Legal Singularity, and the panel will explore how AI can make law radically better.
Assistant Professor Abdi Aidid and Professor Benjamin Alarie
Benjamin Alarie, a professor in the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, has long believed artificial intelligence will bring seismic change to the legal profession and, consequently, society – resulting in what he’s dubbed ‘the legal singularity.’
Alarie tackles the topic with Assistant Professor Abdi Aidid.
The pair argue that the proliferation of AI-enabled technology – and specifically the advent of legal prediction – will radically change the law profession and facilitate “a functional ‘completeness’ of law, where the law is at once extraordinarily more complex in its specification than it is today, and yet operationally vastly more knowable, fairer, and clearer for its subjects.”
Alarie says that’s in stark contrast to how law is practised now.
“There is a ton of uncertainty in the law – we often just don't know what the right legal answer is,” says Alarie, who is the Osler chair of business law. “Uncertainty about facts and law drives litigation. Even if there aren't disputes about the events involved, litigation arises due to a dispute about how the law applies to those facts.”
Alarie and Aidid suggest the book, The Legal Singularity: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Law Radically Better (University of Toronto Press, 2023), should be of interest not only to lawyers and technologists, but anyone interested in the future of the labour force or social institutions beyond the law.
“The legal singularity reflects the full development of our legal system, becoming more complete and accessible through advanced technology,” says Aidid. “The idea is that once we are able to reduce uncertainty, individuals and institutions will have a real-time sense of their legal rights and obligations.”
