LAW4542 AI, technology and the law
Faculty of Law
LAW4542 AI, technology and the law is a level 4, 6-credit-point, undergraduate unit from the Faculty of Law, offered in 2025 in Semester 2 at Clayton. It has no prerequisites.
- Credit points
- 6
- Offered in 2025
- Semester 2
- Clayton
- Assessment
- No exam
- 2 tasks
- Workload
- 144 hours
- per semester
This is the 2025 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.
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Requisites
Before LAW4542
Prohibitions
You can't enrol if you have passed any of these.
After LAW4542
No unit lists LAW4542 as a prerequisite in the 2025 handbook.
Enrolment rules
Students must have completed 60 credit points of law study.
Overview
The focus of the Unit will be on what the law and lawyers can do to make AI conform to the Rule of Law. This includes the legal implications of AI misuse: its potential for bias, injustice and disruption as well as opportunities it may provide if properly regulated. The aim is to encourage future lawyers to think about the future of law and technology within a range of real-world contexts and topics, such as algorithms and their decision making; privacy in a world of online user analysis and facial recognition; democracy and electioneering; concepts of legal personhood and; how all of this might be regulated and controlled.
Offerings in 2025
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Second semester | Clayton | On campus |
Assessment
- Assignment 1Written50%
- Assignment 2Written50%
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
Demonstrate knowledge and evaluation of the impact of AI on selected areas of law (none of which are outside the pre-requisites of the course) and legal practice, including contemporary predictions regarding the future of the legal profession.
- 2
Assess relevant academic literature and apply the results of the research to the specific issues under review.
- 3
Critically assess, and communicate in writing, developments and challenges in relation to AI and the law.
- 4
Reflect on their own capabilities and performance and make use of feedback to support their academic development.
Workload and teaching
- Seminars36 hours
- Teaching approachActive learning
Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcome for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. The unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.
Learning resources
Required resources
See the Moodle unit page for prescribed and recommended resources. Prescribed texts are usually available for purchase through the University Bookstore and are sometimes available for short-term loan or as eBooks through the library.
Contacts
- Chief Examiners
- Professor Chris Marsden
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for LAW4542?
LAW4542 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.
When is LAW4542 offered?
In 2025, LAW4542 runs in Semester 2 at Clayton.
How much work is LAW4542?
The handbook expects about 144 hours of study across the semester. No students have rated its difficulty yet.
Does LAW4542 have an exam?
No. LAW4542 has 2 assessment tasks and no exam.