AI Law Courses Introduced  

Robot and man handshaking. Chatbot assistance, using ai in daily life concept. Vector illustration. Getti Images.

Artificial Intelligence “is a singular technological advancement on par with the microchip, automobiles, and nuclear power, and—like those technologies—will alter society in myriad ways, both good and bad,” says Professor Matthew Murrell, author of the forthcoming book, “Artificial Intelligence Law,” which will explore the emerging field of AI law across many legal domains. 

Murrell, a legal research and writing instructor at Texas Law, is currently teaching a buzzed-about seminar on the emerging and growing bodies of law surrounding AI. He hoped for enrollment of 20 students; he got 64. “The demand is intense,” Murrell says.

The class is one of two new offerings from Texas Law designed to meet the surging legal fascination and engagement with the topic. 

“Artificial intelligence is a lot of different types of systems and manifests itself in a lot of different ways,” Murrell says. “It’s not just a writer—it helps drive cars, determine directions, and makes all sorts of decisions that you don’t know about or see.”   

Law of AI

The Law of Artificial Intelligence grew out of conversations Murrell had with Dean Bobby Chesney. “It became very apparent there was a need for a substantive course on the law of artificial intelligence,” Murrell says. The result? A class that covers legal issues produced by “generative AI”—ChatGPT and others—including copyright, privacy, and control of one’s own likeness. The class also looks at the use of AI by prosecutors and police and considers the handling of cases where AI itself may become responsible for torts or crimes. 

Among his students, “when there’s enthusiasm, it’s infectious, and so there’s a lot of great class participation and discussion,” Murrell says.   

That extends beyond his classroom. “Students who didn’t take the course tell me their friends love it. Colleagues have come up to me and said, ‘I heard students talking about your AI class and how excited they are about it,’” Murrell says. “I’m grateful that I get to teach the class, because it’s a fun time. AI is in the zeitgeist, and there’s a ton of excitement about it.” 

AI is in the zeitgeist, and there’s a ton of excitement about it.

Matthew Murrell

2L Molly Paley was fortunate enough to enroll. With a lifelong interest in policy and experience working as a state representative’s legislative director at the Texas Capitol, Paley wanted to investigate an evolving field of law. In Murrell’s class, she’s benefitted from lessons on the technology behind AI. “Learning about these technical aspects helped me understand the importance of accurately defining AI in the law and the difficulties of doing so when new AI is being created,” she says. 

Before enrolling in the class, 3L Brandon Charnov “knew very little” about AI. But he wanted better understanding in a legal context. Specifically, “how AI may benefit lawyers in the future, and what regulations are being put in place to maximize the benefits of AI while limiting its risks,” Charnov says.  

AI and National Security

AI also raises important cybersecurity and national security issues. That’s where Adam Klein, the director of the Strauss Center for International Security and Law, brings in his expertise. Klein’s recent research looks specifically at the role of large language models—which uncover patterns across previously written texts and then apply them to generate new responses—in aiding governments in declassifying and redacting sensitive materials—and the risks posed by America’s “adversaries using large language models to penetrate our secrets,” he says.     

Offered in spring 2025, Klein’s course, Artificial Intelligence and National Security: Law and Policy, will explore the relevant implications of advances in AI. Students will learn to understand and classify AI systems, and then consider their lawfulness and utility for intelligence, law enforcement, and armed conflict. In the latter area, “I’m especially excited to cover the law, ethics, and policy implications of fielding AI-enabled weapons systems,” Klein says.  

The course will also explore AI’s potential effects in the online information space, cybersecurity, and terrorism before considering possible government responses and the applicable legal principles.

Matthew Murrell

“The course will also explore AI’s potential effects in the online information space, cybersecurity, and terrorism before considering possible government responses and the applicable legal principles,” Klein says. “The class will situate AI within the broader geopolitical context, including great-power competition with China.” 

The course’s co-instructor is Julissa Milligan Walsh, general counsel on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, who is responsible for leading committee oversight work and investigations, as well as advising the chair on legal and policy issues.  

Walsh brings that experience to Texas Law. In the course, she will cover U.S.-China competition around AI and the legal instruments the U.S. can use to preserve advantages in AI models and chips. 

The law school’s Dean Chesney, himself a prominent scholar on AI and the law, regards these new courses as just the beginning of the school’s investment in the field. 

“Artificial intelligence is going to fundamentally change the practice of law in the long run, and we’re staying on top of every development,” Chesney said. “Our priority is to be a leader in thinking about how we can make sure AI is serving us and not the other way around.”

Additional reporting by Christopher Roberts.


A statue of a blindfolded woman in a toga holding a scale in one hand and a sword in the other, representing the legal system

PODCAST

Is it Time to Regulate AI?

September 12, 2024 • by Marc Airhart

Artificial intelligence is very loosely regulated in the U.S. What kinds of laws would help make AI safer and more useful for everyone?

Listen to Matthew Murrell on the September 12 episode of AI for the Rest of Us, a podcast published by the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin.

Category: Faculty News, Law School News