On 7 May 2025, over 300 participants gathered in Stuttgart, Germany for the annual Spring Conference of the German Arbitration Institute (“DIS”) entitled “The Revolution of Arbitration – Is Artificial Intelligence a Gamechanger?”. As in many—if not all—industries, business sectors, and areas of daily life, the topic of artificial intelligence (“AI”) is currently attracting significant…

The thirty-three identical towers that once loomed over St. Louis, Missouri, collapsed in a grey cloud of dust. They were once the future. In the 1950s, rationalist architect Minoru Yamasaki envisioned these high-rises as a utopia in raw concrete. Hundreds of families were evicted from their self-built homes to fulfil his vertical dream. Every detail…

As part of the 2025 edition of the London International Disputes Week (“LIDW”), Osborne Partners, A&O Shearman and Eversheds Sutherland hosted a panel on “Arbitration in Emerging Industries (Tech, Fintech and Crypto): Global Risks and Local Differences”. The panel, moderated by Jonathan Leach (Eversheds Sutherland), comprised Brenda Horrigan (Independent Arbitrator), Sanjeev Kapoor (Khaitan & Co),…

Large language models (“LLMs”) are increasingly reshaping legal work. According to the 2024 Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Lawyer Survey Report, 76% of in-house legal departments and 68% of law firms now use artificial intelligence (“AI”)–powered tools at least once a week. In arbitration, AI has an emerging role in various stages of the process—from dispute…

The rapid evolution of legal technology (“legal tech”) presents both opportunities and challenges for arbitration practitioners. With the emergence of artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools and specialized software solutions, arbitration practices are increasingly seeking ways to streamline workflows, enhance efficiency, and maintain competitive advantages. However, selecting the right legal tech solution requires a nuanced approach that…

On 19 February 2025, a panel of arbitration experts gathered in New York to explore how emerging technologies—particularly artificial intelligence (“AI”)—are reshaping international arbitration. The discussion, titled “From Today to Tomorrow: Tech-Driven Arbitration,” was hosted by the AAA-ICDR and ArbTech and moderated by Mihaela Apostol (ArbTech, London).   Law Firms and AI: Adoption, Resistance, and…

In both the world of arbitration and the fast-evolving landscape of 6G technology, information is power. The Swedish Arbitration Days 2025, themed “Information in Arbitration”, was bookended by two thought-provoking keynotes: Chiann Bao, Independent Arbitrator and former Secretary General of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, emphasised the transformative role of information in arbitration, while…

Dating apps are now a central part of many people’s lives. Yet many users perhaps overlook that use of this kind of app usually comes with an arbitration agreement. Almost all major dating apps—including Bumble, eHarmony, Grindr, Hinge, Match, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish, and Tinder— incorporate broad arbitration clauses in their terms of service (“TOS”)….

In modern arbitration proceedings, most evidence goes through a digital process before reaching the eyes of decision-makers. Physical documents are scanned, processed with Optical Character Recognition (“OCR”), archived, and transferred. Digitally created documents follow the last two steps as well. Sometimes these processes are repeated multiple times. This “assembly line of evidence” has become the…

In 2024, the relationship between arbitration and technology continued to resemble a thriller. While integrating technology into arbitration offered the promise of new opportunities, it also introduced new layers of complexity, both in terms of procedure and in terms of disputes arising from technology itself.   Arbitration-Related Technology Arbitration-related technology is ever-developing, as are the…

Riding on the waves of the Singapore Convention Week and the IP Week @ Singapore, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (“CIArb”) and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (“IPOS”) co-hosted a conference on Intellectual Property (“IP”) and Technology Dispute Resolution on August 29, 2024. The event featured speakers and panelists from the Singapore and English…

Following the morning session of the SIAC Symposium 2024, which explored issues including the challenges posed by artificial intelligence (“AI”), climate change, and trade disruption (see Part 1), the afternoon session consisted of three plenary panel discussions that delved into the core issues shaping the future of arbitration. These pivotal topics comprised: the ethical considerations guiding…

Emotion AI, also known as affective computing, is a specialized field within artificial intelligence that recognizes and interprets human emotions. This is primarily achieved through analyzing facial expressions, voice patterns, and choice of words. Having found applications in various domains such as health and defense, the market for emotion AI is experiencing substantial growth, currently…

Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) is the buzzword of the day. It has crept into every pore of society, and arbitration has not evaded this trend. The main question raised by commentators and the public is whether AI will render human involvement obsolete, or at least reduce it to a bare minimum. In the context of arbitration,…

On 7 June 2024, the Dutch Arbitration Association (“DAA”) held its annual conference (the Dutch Arbitration Day “DAD”). Themed “Arbitration for the Next Generation”, this year’s edition highlighted the challenges and opportunities in future arbitral disputes faced by the next generation of arbitrators and practitioners.   Tomorrow Must be a Better Day In his keynote…

The rapid progression of technology is transforming industries and reshaping global geopolitical dynamics. With the rise of generative artificial intelligence (“AI”) and explosive share growth, US tech giants – such as Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, and Amazon – dominate the list of the world’s most valuable companies. Amid concerns over the influence tech companies wield,…

Day 3 of the London International Disputes Week (“LIDW”) featured an extensive discussion (the “Arbitral Institutions’ Congress”) by representatives of various arbitral institutions at the historic Parliament Chamber at Middle Temple co-hosted by McNair, Clyde & Co, and Osborne Clarke. The present post summarises the discussions held during the event.   Statistics and Views From…

On March 14, 2024, the 3rd California International Arbitration Week featured an event titled ‘Resolving Tomorrow’s Conflicts Today: An In-House Perspective on Technology Disputes from the Tech Mecca,’ organized by California Arbitration and the California Lawyers Association and hosted at JAMS. The session, moderated by Hon. James Ware (Arbitrator/Mediator, JAMS), included speakers such as Barbara…

The Delhi Arbitration Week (“DAW”) 2024 that took place from 6 to 10 March 2024 featured two panel discussions that focused on emerging issues such as state owned entities (“SOEs”) and the role of technology in arbitration. The panel discussions came into play at a time when there have been significant developments and challenges globally…

Most of you will be familiar with ChatGPT and some will even be familiar with Midjourney and Stable Diffusion, but the recent launch of another type of Generative AI service has flown under the radar in the wider media as of now. However, it poses some of the most important practical and conceptual questions as…

On January 11, 2024 the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University hosted the sixth annual Schiefelbein Global Dispute Resolution Conference.  Like the past iterations of this conference, the program featured top lawyers, mediators, arbitrators, academics, and leaders of arbitration institutions discussing timely issues in international dispute resolution.  This blog post recaps…

If the title of this blog scared you, it was meant to. In “The Future of the Professions,” authors Richard and Daniel Susskind, who are leading experts in law and tech, look at the impact of the current technological revolution on professional services. Their starting point is that professional service providers need to ask themselves…

Data-Related Disputes Nearly five billion people use social media. Last year saw the expansion of AI-based businesses, from search engines to data analytics to product development. Some of the most valuable data for AI-training sets includes photographs, names, birth dates, consumer preferences, and family histories that users have published online or otherwise made available. Companies…

Over the last year, the potential for Generative AI in the legal services market has shaken the legal profession.  While its impacts are not yet fully understood, many believe that it will transform many aspects of legal practice. Of course, technology isn’t new to the profession but to date almost all technology has been used…