The law of algorithmic society
Authors
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Artur Stamford da Silva
Facultad de Derecho de Recife, Universidad Federal de Pernambuco
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6537-2399
Abstract
The presence of computational algorithms in various areas of everyday life has led us to propose the term ‘algorithmic society’. To investigate how algorithms are influencing society's laws, we searched the Internet for cases. The searches were conducted using the following terms in Spanish, English, and Portuguese: ‘algorithms and law,’ ‘artificial intelligence and law,’ ‘artificial intelligence and legal cases,’ and ‘artificial intelligence and legal decisions.’ The responses were compiled and the data presented in an Excel spreadsheet and analysed from the perspective of Niklas Luhmann's theory of society as a communication system with meaning. In our survey, we observed two extremes: on the one hand, those who consider the relationship between algorithms and law as a way to solve various problems in legal practice and, on the other hand, those who consider this relationship to be harmful, as artificial intelligence algorithms will replace humans. Our research to date leads us to believe that both extremes are misleading, not only because futurism is a form of self-delusion, but also because the responsibility for human decision-making will never cease to be human. After all, in all human interpretation (including legal interpretation), the attribution of value, the acceptance or rejection of an argument or information, is not a matter of the interpreter's exclusive will, but involves the participation and presence of various elements of the materiality, temporality and sociality of meaning.Keywords:
systems theory , law , algorithms , society , algorithmic societyReferences
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