Books by Simon Chesterman
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been transformed from a periodic meeting o... more The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been transformed from a periodic meeting of ministers to become the most important regional organisation in Asia’s history. An important tension in this transformation is the question of whether the ‘ASEAN way’ — defined by consultation and consensus, rather than enforceable obligations — is consistent with the establishment of a community governed by law. This book examines the evolution of efforts to gather and share information about compliance with international obligations, the other purposes that monitoring has served, and how such regimes might influence ASEAN’s ambitious goal of forming an ASEAN Community by the end of 2015.
Papers by Simon Chesterman
Artificial intelligence will soon surpass knowledge workers in most tasks for which they are trai... more Artificial intelligence will soon surpass knowledge workers in most tasks for which they are trained. Should universities switch from educating the mind to educating the heart?
Generative AI is changing our relationship to information, from how we seek it (chatting with AI rather than searching with Google) to how we produce it (from writing to prompting). It also offers new ways of engaging with material. Google’s NotebookLM, for example, can ingest articles or whole books and create an engaging podcast between two speakers. This is all very exciting. But, to the extent that the functions of a university are to cultivate knowledge and educate the citizenry, these changes herald a seismic shift in what universities do, as well as what they are. In particular, after centuries of attention to training of the mind, a more holistic view of education may mean refocusing on the heart.
Introduction - welcome to law using this book. Part 1 Surviving law: why are you studying law? co... more Introduction - welcome to law using this book. Part 1 Surviving law: why are you studying law? coping at university essential study skills - time management essential study skills -reading, notetaking and learning legal concepts. Part 2 Understanding law: crucial concepts reading case law introductory legal theory. Part 3 Using the law: writing law essays preparing for exams sitting law exams dealing with problems. Part 4 Conclusion: final reflections on law.
This essay examines the 2013 decision by the International Court of Justice interpreting its 1962... more This essay examines the 2013 decision by the International Court of Justice interpreting its 1962 judgment in the Temple of Preah Vihear case between Cambodia and Thailand, situating the more recent decision in the context of the Court’s evolving role in Asia. Only eight Asian states have accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court; only nine have ever appeared before it. The narrowness of the recent decision is of interest in part because of the modest role it ascribes to judicial institutions, but also for what this modesty heralds for the Court’s status in Asia. A key conclusion is that Asian states are likely to retain a general preference for bilateral resolution of disputes. For smaller disputes, however, especially those concerning subjects that cannot be divided or traded — such as a temple (and, as we shall see, an island) — the ICJ may play an important role.
International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 2020
As artificial intelligence (AI) systems become more sophisticated and play a larger role in socie... more As artificial intelligence (AI) systems become more sophisticated and play a larger role in society, arguments that they should have some form of legal personality gain credence. The arguments are typically framed in instrumental terms, with comparisons to juridical persons such as corporations. Implicit in those arguments, or explicit in their illustrations and examples, is the idea that as AI systems approach the point of indistinguishability from humans they should be entitled to a status comparable to natural persons. This article contends that although most legal systems could create a novel category of legal persons, such arguments are insufficient to show that they should.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2020
As computer programs become more complex, the ability of non-specialists to understand how a give... more As computer programs become more complex, the ability of non-specialists to understand how a given output has been reached diminishes. Opaqueness may also be built into programs to protect proprietary interests. Both types of systems are capable of being explained, either through recourse to experts or an order to produce information. Another class of system may be naturally opaque, however, using deep learning methods that are impossible to explain in a manner that humans can comprehend. An emerging literature describes these phenomena or specific problems to which they give rise, notably the potential for bias against specific groups. Drawing on examples from the United States, the European Union, and China, this Article develops a novel typology of three discrete regulatory challenges posed by opacity. First, it may encourage—or fail to discourage—inferior decisions by removing the potential for oversight and accountability. Second, it may allow impermissible decisions, notably those that explicitly or implicitly rely on protected categories such as gender or race in making a determination. Third, it may render illegitimate decisions in which the process by which an answer is reached is as important as the answer itself. The means of addressing some or all of these concerns is routinely said to be through transparency. Yet, while proprietary opacity can be dealt with by court order and complex opacity through recourse to experts, naturally opaque systems may require novel forms of “explanation” or an acceptance that some machine-made decisions cannot be explained—or, in the alternative, that some decisions should not be made by machine at all.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2020
Since computers entered into the mainstream in the 1960s, the efficiency with which data could be... more Since computers entered into the mainstream in the 1960s, the efficiency with which data could be processed has raised regulatory questions. This is well understood with respect to privacy. Data that was notionally public — divorce proceedings, say — had long been protected through the ‘practical obscurity’ of paper records. When such material was available in a single hard copy in a government office, the chances of one’s acquaintances or employer finding it was remote. Yet when it was computerized and made searchable through what ultimately became the Internet, such practical obscurity disappeared. Today, high-speed computing poses comparable challenges to existing regulatory models in areas from securities regulation to competition law, merely by enabling lawful activities — trading in stocks, or comparing and adjusting prices, say — to be undertaken more quickly than previously conceived possible. Many of these questions are practical rather than conceptual. Nevertheless, current approaches to slowing down such decision-making — through circuit-breakers to slow or stop trading, for example — are unlikely to address all of the problems raised by the speed of AI systems.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2019
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Books by Simon Chesterman
Papers by Simon Chesterman
Generative AI is changing our relationship to information, from how we seek it (chatting with AI rather than searching with Google) to how we produce it (from writing to prompting). It also offers new ways of engaging with material. Google’s NotebookLM, for example, can ingest articles or whole books and create an engaging podcast between two speakers. This is all very exciting. But, to the extent that the functions of a university are to cultivate knowledge and educate the citizenry, these changes herald a seismic shift in what universities do, as well as what they are. In particular, after centuries of attention to training of the mind, a more holistic view of education may mean refocusing on the heart.
Generative AI is changing our relationship to information, from how we seek it (chatting with AI rather than searching with Google) to how we produce it (from writing to prompting). It also offers new ways of engaging with material. Google’s NotebookLM, for example, can ingest articles or whole books and create an engaging podcast between two speakers. This is all very exciting. But, to the extent that the functions of a university are to cultivate knowledge and educate the citizenry, these changes herald a seismic shift in what universities do, as well as what they are. In particular, after centuries of attention to training of the mind, a more holistic view of education may mean refocusing on the heart.