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Eric Hilgendorf, Digital Justice : Do we need a "Robot Judge"?
Eric Hilgendorf, Digital Justice : Do we need a "Robot Judge"?
Date：2023-06-28
On May 9, 2023, Professor Eric Hilgendorf, Distinguished Global Faculty of Peking University Law School and Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Würzburg, gave a thought-provoking lecture on the challenges of the use of AI in forensics and justice.
Professor Hilgendorf argued that an independent judiciary plays a central political role in the structure of the state, based on the separation of powers, and that AI cannot take over these tasks. However, he also acknowledged that AI can be applied fruitfully in the judiciary, as it can help compensate for cognitive deficits among decision-makers. In the near future, AI may enable new and additional services for citizens, such as specific online resources on legal issues, individualized and even culturally sensitive advice, or concrete suggestions for dispute resolution.
Professor Hilgendorf believes that the future belongs to cooperation between AI and human decision-makers. Simple and subordinate decisions could well be made by artificial intelligence, while the final decision should remain with the human being to preserve the human orientation of our legal system.
Professor Hilgendorf argued that an independent judiciary plays a central political role in the structure of the state, based on the separation of powers, and that AI cannot take over these tasks. However, he also acknowledged that AI can be applied fruitfully in the judiciary, as it can help compensate for cognitive deficits among decision-makers. In the near future, AI may enable new and additional services for citizens, such as specific online resources on legal issues, individualized and even culturally sensitive advice, or concrete suggestions for dispute resolution.
Professor Hilgendorf believes that the future belongs to cooperation between AI and human decision-makers. Simple and subordinate decisions could well be made by artificial intelligence, while the final decision should remain with the human being to preserve the human orientation of our legal system.
- Speaker Profile:
Eric Hilgendorf holds a degree in Philosophy, Modern History, and Law from the University of Tübingen (BA/MA equivalent). In 1997 he was appointed Professor of Criminal Law (and related fields) at the University of Constance and later elected Dean of the Law Faculty there. In 2001 he moved to the University of Würzburg and became the Chair of the Department of Criminal Law, Criminal Justice, Legal Theory, Information and Computer Science Law. His fields of expertise and interest also include medical criminal law and bioethics. In 2010, Hilgendorf founded the "Forschungsstelle Robotrecht", a well-known research centre addressing legal issues related to autonomous systems in industrial processes, transport and private life. Since 2013, he is head of the pan-European legal research group of AdaptIVe, an EU-funded research project on the development of autonomous vehicles. In 2016, he was appointed by Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure Alexander Dobrindt to serve on the German government's Ethics Commission on Autonomous Driving. Since 2019, Hilgendorf is Co-Director of the newly founded Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (BIDT). Moreover, he is member of the European High Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence.
Hilgendorf is the author of multiple books, essays, and annotations. Many of his works have been translated into other languages such as English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Turkish and Greek. Among his works are: Strafgesetzbuch: Lehr- und Praxiskommentar (2020), Die Deutsche Strafrechtswissenschaft : Tradition und Moderne (2015), Handbook of German Criminal Law (2018), Casebook on Criminal Law: General and Specific Sections (2008).
Hilgendorf is the author of multiple books, essays, and annotations. Many of his works have been translated into other languages such as English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Turkish and Greek. Among his works are: Strafgesetzbuch: Lehr- und Praxiskommentar (2020), Die Deutsche Strafrechtswissenschaft : Tradition und Moderne (2015), Handbook of German Criminal Law (2018), Casebook on Criminal Law: General and Specific Sections (2008).
To learn more about the event, please check out: https://www.law.pku.edu.cn/xwzx/xwdt/149916.htm