Program Overview

Program Overview

The program in question is the Frontier AI & Robotics: Law & Ethics course offered at Duke Law School. This course brings together three core areas: law, ethics, and applied technology, with a focus on the legal and ethical implications of artificial intelligence and robotics.

Course Description

Robots, with us for several generations already, were long confined to narrow uses and trained users, assembling our vehicles and moving our products behind the scenes. In recent years, robotic tools have begun to step out of the back room and take center stage. Even more, these tools are fueled by constantly advancing artificial intelligence and machine learning tools that allow them to participate in the world of the mind as much as the world of muscle. Are we ready? Probably not. In order to capture the full opportunities and benefits of AI & robotics, surely our legal systems and ethical frameworks must evolve. We must find ways to ensure that human-robot interactions occur in ways that are safe and are consistent with our cultural values. We must take care that our policies and laws provide artificial intelligence tools with the direction we need without quashing or hindering the innovations that could improve our lives.

Course Objectives

The course will bring together three core areas: (1) law, (2) ethics, and (3) applied technology. Because frontier technologies challenge existing legal regimes and ethical frameworks, this course and its assigned project encourage law, ethics, and policy students to interact with networks of experts who are actively thinking about ethical technology development and with technology policy networks that explore the social implications of a world increasingly inclusive of AI.

Course Requirements

Beyond time spent for class preparation and in-class time, each student in Frontier AI & Robotics: Law & Ethics will be required to complete a substantial research-based Report that demonstrates a deep, research-based understanding of a topic about which the student shall become knowledgeable such that he/she could take part meaningfully in and contribute to present-day discussions of law, policy, and ethics in the topic area. This Report may qualify for the JD SRWP degree requirement or the International LLM writing requirement upon permission of the instructor.

Evaluation Methods

• Reflective Writing
• Research and/or analytical paper(s), 20+ pages
• In-class exercise
• Class participation

Degree Requirements

• JD SRWP, option
• JD elective
• LLM-LE (JD) elective
• IntlLLM-SJD-EXC elective
• IntlLLM writing
• IntlLLM Business Cert
• IntllLLM IP Cert
• LLMLE (1 yr) elective

Course Areas of Practice

• Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• Intellectual Property, Science, and Technology Law

Learning Outcomes

• Legal analysis and reasoning, legal research, problem-solving, and written and oral communication in the legal context
• Other professional skills needed for competent and ethical participation as a member of the legal profession

Grading Basis

Graded

Course Schedule

The course is offered in various semesters, including:

• Fall 2025
• Spring 2024
• Spring 2023
• Spring 2022
• Spring 2021
• Fall 2020
• Spring 2020
• Fall 2019
• Spring 2019
• Spring 2018
• Spring 2017

Instructor

Jeff Ward

Additional Information

No prior experience with artificial intelligence or technology is needed for this course. The course will be delivered entirely online, with opportunities for in-person engagement. The community that has always developed among the interdisciplinary participants (law, tech-ethics, public policy, etc.) of this course is one of its primary goals and benefits. As such, online sessions will involve substantial participation in small breakout groups that allow for close collaboration on solving real-world problems, and participation in synchronous sessions will remain a significant percentage of the final grade assessment.