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International Law and AI (LAWS90334)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
Contact information
April
Teaching staff:
Niccolò Ridi (Subject Coordinator)
For current student enquiries, contact the Law School Academic Support Office
Overview
| Availability(Quotas apply) | April - On Campus |
|---|---|
| Fees | Look up fees |
This subject critically explores the intersection of international law and Artificial Intelligence (AI). We conceptualise AI as an ‘Algorithmic Leviathan’ – a powerful force reshaping global power, economies, and societies. Rather than a regulatory void, the course examines how existing international legal frameworks (in trade, human rights, humanitarian law, etc.) grapple with AI’s multifaceted impacts – from its resource-intensive creation and data extraction to its deployment in autonomous systems and decision-making. You will critically analyse attempts to govern AI, considering the interplay between states, corporations, and the risks of ‘regulatory capture’. The subject also explores AI’s potential to serve international law’s goals, such as enhancing access to justice, while remaining vigilant about biases and ethical challenges. Through lectures, discussions, and hands-on AI tool exercises (no coding background needed), you will develop a sophisticated understanding of how international law is responding to, and being reshaped by, AI’s advance.
Indicative list of principal topics:
- Introduction: AI as a Force to be Governed? (Concepts, History, Critical Framing)
- International Law’s Encounter with AI: (Sources, Subjects, Responsibility, Jurisdiction)
- AI's Material Costs: (Resource Extraction, Environment, Labour, Trade Law - for example, China - Rare Earths)
- AI's Data Demands: The Data Mine (Information Extraction, Privacy, Data Flows, Human Rights Law)
- Governing AI: Regulation, Competition, and Capture (Global Governance Models, EU AI Act, Treaty Efforts)
- AI on the Battlefield: Autonomous Weapons, Targeting, and International Humanitarian Law
- Rules as Data: AI, Treaty Interpretation, and Legal Knowledge Management
- AI and Information Warfare: State Responsibility and Human Rights Implications
- Algorithmic Justice? AI in International Adjudication, Decision-Making, and Bias Mitigation
- AI Futures: Collective Rights, Deliberative Democracy, and the Evolving Role of the International Lawyer
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject should be able to:
- Critically analyse the rise of AI and its implications for international law and global governance.
- Identify and evaluate how existing international legal frameworks apply to the development, deployment, and impact of AI technologies.
- Assess the challenges of regulating AI internationally, including issues of jurisdiction, enforcement, and the influence of non-state actors (regulatory capture).
- Analyse the ethical, social, and environmental consequences of AI through the lens of international law, including issues of bias, accountability, and resource extraction.
- Critically evaluate the potential benefits and risks of using AI tools in international legal practice and decision-making processes.
- Develop and articulate sophisticated arguments on complex issues at the intersection of AI and international law, drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives and critical theories.
Generic skills
- Critical Analysis and Evaluation Skills
- Problem-Solving Skills
- Research Skills
- Interdisciplinary Thinking
- Communication Skills (Oral and Written)
- Technological Literacy
Last updated: 18 February 2026