A black box artificial intelligence (“AI”) model is one “created directly from data by an algorithm, meaning that humans, even those who design them, cannot understand how variables are being combined to make predictions” (see a more detailed discussion here). That we do not understand the way an AI reaches its conclusions is creating discomfort…

London International Disputes Week (LIDW) 2023 main conference addressed various facets of international dispute resolution in a changing world. Looking back to the first edition of LIDW in 2019, when the main concern revolved around Brexit and the consequences of it on London as a leading place of arbitration and international litigation, the following editions…

Introduction ChatGPT is short for “Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer”.  It is an artificially intelligent text generation bot that can have a conversation.  It does so by using a language processing algorithm called a “Transformer”, which generates natural language responses to user input. There are various user platforms, for example, https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt.  ChatGPT is simple, like any…

Given the protean nature of technology, it has the propensity to evolve in ways that may surprise even the keenest observers. As such, the time is ripe to take stock of developments in relation to the new technologies discussed in our earlier article from 2018, such as Big Data, blockchain, machine learning and text mining,…

International arbitration is a prime example of the power and complexity of combined human minds. It is a marvel of human cooperation and ingenuity that strangers forego barbarism in favour of peaceful resolution – even more so when they do it cross-borders, on the unlikely belief that their interests will be guarded by yet another…

On the morning of Friday 16 September 2022, to the sound of the Star Wars theme, the first edition of the Future of Technology in Arbitration 2022 conference, a.k.a. FOTA22, officially began. Delving into many interesting topics, the organizers ensured plenty of opportunities for the participants to have an active say in what was being…

International Law Talk is a series of podcasts through which Wolters Kluwer provides the latest news and industry insights from thought leaders and experts in the fields of International Arbitration, IP Law, International Tax Law and Competition Law. Here at Kluwer Arbitration Blog, we highlight the podcasts focused on international arbitration. In this latest episode,…

The second day of the ICCA Congress took place on Tuesday, September 20. Delegates gathered in the morning for the presentation of the inaugural ICCA Guillermo Aguilar-Alvarez Memorial Prize, established in honour of former ICCA Governing Board Member Guillermo Aguilar-Alvarez. Professor Stefano Azzali said a few words on the life and career of Guillermo, fondly…

The first full day of the ICCA Congress took place on Monday, September 19. Delegates gathered early in the morning for a keynote speech by Louise Arbour, former Canadian diplomat, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, High Commissioner for Refugees, Chief Prosecutor for the Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals and current Senior Counsel at BLG….

Wolters Kluwer recently launched the Profile Navigator and Relationship Indicator tools within the Kluwer Arbitration Practice Plus suite of arbitration products. Kluwer Arbitration Blog recently met with Dr. Nikos Lavranos and Ewa Cairns-Szkatuła to discuss this new development. Dr. Lavranos is Founder of NL-investmentconsulting and acts as legal counsel, arbitrator, mediator and offers a broad…

Les notions, essentiellement philosophiques, de volonté et de liberté sont au cœur de la matière.  – Emmanuel Gaillard   Arbitration is a form of private dispute resolution. Parties arbitrate disputes through a private system created of their own will and liberty, contractually exiting the public, state-controlled system of dispute resolution. Whilst there are many different…

At the time the New York Convention (1958) and the UNCITRAL Model Law (1985) were being drafted, the possibility of sophisticated technology rather than natural persons running and controlling an arbitration must have seemed far-fetched. But, at the same time, the language employed in both the Convention and the Model Law did not expressly exclude…

As part of Canadian Arbitration Week, the 2021 ICC Canada Conference, titled Leaning into the Future, was designed to facilitate critical thinking and debate on several important topics in international arbitration. The focus of the conference was decidedly post-pandemic, exploring fault lines and cleavages in the system of international arbitration as we know it today,…

The legal industry has benefited tremendously from recent technological advancements, leading to the expansion of Legal Tech as the driving force for progress in this field. More and more tools – more or less Artificial Intelligence (“AI”)1)Generally, the term “Artificial Intelligence (AI)” refers to machines capable of replicating human intelligence. However, the technological status quo…

Arbitration Tech Toolbox is a new series on the Kluwer Arbitration Blog that aims to stimulate broader discussion and debate in the arbitration community on arbitration-related technology, its impact, and its future. We believe everyone stands to gain from a discussion of best practices surrounding the ongoing adoption of new technologies and identification of available…

Wolters Kluwer teamed up with the global law firm Clifford Chance to discuss the advances in artificial intelligence (AI), its limitations, and various applications in an interactive webinar titled Artificial Intelligence and Arbitration: Should We Keep It Real? The lively discussion covered AI fundamentals, in addition to recent developments in the field. The panel also…

 “Lo que yo sostengo es que el sol no durará eternamente”, fue la verdad resumida que uno de los personajes del cuento de ciencia ficción de Isaac Asimov, llamado “La última pregunta”, expresó a otro, mientras hablaban sobre qué pasaría con la humanidad cuando el sol se quede sin brillo. Su discusión sucedió durante el…

Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) follows the logic that if all attributes of learning and intelligence is accurately traced in-depth, it can be simulated through a computer program. In other words, ‘what holds good for [Human Intelligence], also applies to AI’.1)See H.J. Snijders, Arbitrage en AI: Van arbitrage naar robotrage en van menselijke arbiter naar robotarbiter?, Tijdschrift…

The Report on Online Dispute Resolution platform for consumers issued by the European Commission on 2 October 2019 concludes that “the ODR framework is underused and has yet to reach its full potential”. Against this background, the French legislator has taken a strong stance to promote the use of artificial intelligence and online dispute resolution,…

In the last few years, the international arbitration community has started to engage in discussions on the digital transformation of dispute resolution and on artificial intelligence (also on this blog). Scholars and arbitration practitioners have been speculating on how artificial intelligence might be used in arbitral proceedings and the potential impact it might have on…

Questioning About the (Inexorable?) Future Could artificial intelligence (AI) carry out decision-making? Is it just a matter of time? Will AI replace human arbitrators? Further, will emotional intelligence always trump AI, or will AI enhance the arbitral process? Despite the topicality of the subject, the arbitration rules remain silent about AI. However, there is also…

Introduction At the latest ODR Forum which was held on 29-31 October 2019 in Williamsburg, Virginia, Dr Anyu Lee presented on China’s vision of online dispute resolution (“ODR”). He discussed how far China has progressed in developing artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools for online courts, arbitration and mediation. He also described the potential of AI in…

Introduction Humans versus robots: the YSIAC debate held yesterday as part of YSIAC Conference 2019 sought to address the deep question of what it means for us to be human and the timely question of whether technology can and will, one day, surpass us. The moderator for the debate was Professor Nadja Alexander (Director, SIDRA)….

Introduction Ms Winnie Tam SC is a leading intellectual property specialist in Hong Kong, and was the first female specialist of the field to be appointed Senior Counsel by the Chief Justice of Hong Kong in 2006. After her elected term as Chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association (“HKBA”) between January 2015 and January…