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2025 Myint Zan Law and Philosophy Lecture
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Leibniz's Dream: How to Automate Legal Reasoning with Artificial Intelligence
Friday 12 December 2025
5-6.30pm AEDT (followed by reception in the foyer)
RSSS Auditorium (Room 1.28)
146 Ellery Crescent, Canberra ACT 2601
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Discover how AI and philosophy converge to transform legal reasoning in this insightful lecture by
Professor Scott Shapiro (Yale Law School)
Abstract
In the 17th Century, the philosopher, mathematician, and lawyer Gottfried Leibniz envisioned the creation of a
characteristica universalis and calculus ratiocinator that would enable reasoning in law and morals as systematically as in geometry and analysis. His goal was to resolve legal disputes with the precision and clarity with which accountants settle
financial discrepancies. “To take pen in hand, sit down at the abacus and, having called in a friend if they want, say to each other: Let us calculate!”
We are now, for the first time in history, positioned to realise Leibniz's dream of automating legal reasoning. The crucial step in this process, Scott will argue, is the alignment of sophisticated
computer science techniques with appropriate types of legal problems. Automating code-based legal reasoning, which relies on explicit statutes and regulations, differs fundamentally from automating case-based reasoning, which depends on precedents and interpretations.
Scott will explore how formal methods and Large Language Models (LLMs) can be utilised to achieve what Leibniz envisioned three centuries ago, effectively transforming the landscape of legal reasoning
through the power of modern computational technology.
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About the Speaker
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Scott J. Shapiro is the Charles F. Southmayd Professor of Law and professor of philosophy at Yale Law School. His scholarship spans the philosophy of law, international and
criminal law, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.
Shapiro is the author of Legality (2011); The Internationalists (2017, with Oona Hathaway); and
Fancy Bear Goes Phishing (2023). He also co-edited The Oxford Handbook of Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law (2002, with Jules Coleman).
Shapiro holds a B.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from Columbia University and a J.D. from Yale Law School. He serves as co-editor of
Legal Theory and the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and his commentary has appeared in outlets such as
The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Guardian, and Foreign Affairs.
Shapiro founded the Yale Documentary Project, which provides legal counsel to independent filmmakers, and co-founded the Yale Legal AI Lab, focused on the automation of legal reasoning. From 2024 to 2025, he was Special Assistant for AI Ethics to the Chief
AI Officer at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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The Myint Zan Law and Philosophy Lecture is an annual lecture made possible by the generosity of the donor, Professor Myint Zan. Each lecture is presented by an outstanding and distinguished
scholar working in law, philosophy, or at their intersection, and helps build valuable bridges across the university and beyond the academy to address fundamental challenges facing humankind.
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The Australian National University,
Canberra
TEQSA Provider : PRV12002
CRICOS Provider : 00120C
ABN : 52 234 063 906
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