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AI and Justice (LAWS90248)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5Online
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable (login required)(opens in new window)
Contact information
June
Lecturer
Tatiana Cutts (Coordinator)
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: 13 MELB (13 6352), International: +(61 3) 9035 5511
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
October
Lecturer
Tatiana Cutts (Coordinator)
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: 13 MELB (13 6352), International: +(61 3) 9035 5511
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Overview
Availability(Quotas apply) | June - Online October - Online |
---|---|
Fees | Look up fees |
Algorithms are used by public and private bodies to make decisions that govern our lives in significant ways: our healthcare and social welfare entitlements; our educational achievements, jobs, and pay; whether we are subjected to increased police scrutiny, or sent to prison (and for how long). Those algorithms often draw upon patterns in data about large groups of people to predict the future actions, needs or characteristics of specific persons.
A great deal has been written about the risk of bias and discrimination, understood as the systematic propensity to single out individuals or groups for poor treatment. But what do we really mean when we use those terms? Are there other reasons to worry about predictive algorithms that are not about equality or relative treatment – reasons, for instance, to think that we should not punish people on the basis of facts about their family history or social circumstance?
This subject considers what’s at stake for individuals when we are subjected to automated decisions, and the role that the law plays or can play in helping to ensure that algorithms are not used to create or perpetuate injustices.
Principal topics will include:
- Relevance
- What does it mean to make a “good” decision?
- Equality
- Why does inequality matter, and how do algorithms fare?
- Choice
- How do algorithms affect the control that we have over our lives?
- Transparency
- Can we really figure out whether algorithmic decisions are just?
- Privacy
- Do algorithms cross the line?
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject should be able to:
- Analyse and explain the legal, social-legal, and theoretical context of new technological advances, particularly within the sphere of automated decision-making.
- Use sources appropriately to engage in important debates about the use of algorithms in public and private decision-making.
- Communicate clearly specialised information and concepts relevant to questions of legal theory and doctrine and public policy in the context of automated decision-making.
- Interpret and analyse technical and theoretical information, cutting to the heart of the normative concerns that are prompted by predictive technologies.
- Develop a clear, coherent, rigorous, and well-structured argument, which digs deeply into the moral and legal context of automated decision-making.
Generic skills
- Acquire specialised and interdisciplinary knowledge of how humans make decisions (and whether we are any good at it), how algorithms support those decisions, and how each system fits with legal frameworks that aim to secure individual justice.
- Critically consider the adequacy of legal responses to the challenges raised by the use of algorithms to make and support decisions in the public and private spheres, and questions of legal and regulatory design in multiple jurisdictions.
- Develop the expert and specialised skills necessary to support independent thought and reflection across questions of law, policy, economics, and society as they intersect with predictive algorithms.
- Master technical research skills and communicate specialised information and concepts relevant to questions of legal theory and doctrine, public policy, and commercial practice in the context of artificial decision-making.
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Assessment
June
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Class participation and online discussion board contributions | Throughout the teaching period | 15% |
Group in-class presentation
| During the teaching period | 15% |
Research essay on a topic approved by the subject coordinator
| 7 August 2024 | 70% |
Hurdle requirement: A minimum of 75% attendance is required. | During the teaching period | N/A |
October
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Class participation and online discussion board contributions | Throughout the teaching period | 15% |
Group in-class presentation
| During the teaching period | 15% |
Research essay on a topic approved by the subject coordinator
| 4 December 2024 | 70% |
Hurdle requirement: A minimum of 75% attendance is required. | During the teaching period | N/A |
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- June - Online
Principal coordinator Tatiana Cutts Mode of delivery Online Contact hours Total time commitment 150 hours Pre teaching start date 8 May 2024 Pre teaching requirements Please refer to the Reading Guide on the LMS subject page for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences. Teaching period 5 June 2024 to 12 June 2024 Last self-enrol date 13 May 2024 Census date 6 June 2024 Last date to withdraw without fail 12 July 2024 Assessment period ends 7 August 2024 June contact information
Lecturer
Tatiana Cutts (Coordinator)
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: 13 MELB (13 6352), International: +(61 3) 9035 5511
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au - October - Online
Principal coordinator Tatiana Cutts Mode of delivery Online Contact hours Total time commitment 150 hours Pre teaching start date 9 September 2024 Pre teaching requirements Please refer to the Reading Guide on the LMS subject page for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences. Teaching period 7 October 2024 to 11 October 2024 Last self-enrol date 13 September 2024 Census date 8 October 2024 Last date to withdraw without fail 1 November 2024 Assessment period ends 4 December 2024 October contact information
Lecturer
Tatiana Cutts (Coordinator)
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: 13 MELB (13 6352), International: +(61 3) 9035 5511
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 30 students.
Enrolment is on a 'first in' basis. Waitlists are maintained for subjects that are fully subscribed.
Students should note priority of waitlisted places in subjects will be given as follows:
- To currently enrolled Graduate Diploma and Masters students with a satisfactory record in their degree
- To other students enrolling on a single subject basis, eg Community Access Program (CAP) students, cross-institutional study and cross-faculty study.
Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Melbourne Law School may reserve places in a subject for incoming international cohorts or where a subject is core to a specialisation with limited alternate options.
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Specialist materials will be made available via the LMS in the pre-teaching period.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Course Master of Laws Course Graduate Diploma in Laws Course Specialist Certificate in Law (Digital Law and Technological Innovation) - Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
If required, please contact law-masters@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 31 January 2024