Reflecting on Democracy, AI and the Future of Law: A Visit to William & Mary Law School
Democracy at 250 and Looking Ahead
In late January 2026, I travelled to William & Mary Law School in Virginia, United States, to participate in a series of events marking an important milestone: the approaching 250th anniversary of American democracy. I was then, and still am, an academic at Monash University’s Faculty of Law and as Deputy Director of Monash’s Digital Law Group.
The journey itself provided an early reminder that even well-planned trips can take unexpected turns. Severe winter storms across the United States caused widespread flight disruptions, leaving me spending an unplanned night on an airport bench in Dallas before eventually reaching Virginia — an event that provided ample opportunity to reflect on the past and future of democratic governance.
The events brought together scholars and students to consider not only the constitutional traditions that shaped the United States, but also the challenges democratic societies will face over the next 250 years as emerging technologies reshape law, government and public institutions. The setting for these discussions carried its own historical resonance. William & Mary Law School, established in 1779 following reforms championed by Thomas Jefferson, is widely recognised as America’s first law school and the oldest law school in the United States still in operation.
My visit was supported by the William & Mary Global Research Institute and William & Mary’s Digital Democracy Lab, both of which promote international collaboration on questions at the intersection of law, technology and governance. The events were organised under the leadership of Professor Margaret Hu, a leading scholar of artificial intelligence law and policy and the director of the Digital Democracy Lab, whose work focuses on the implications of AI systems for democratic institutions as well as a wider web of national priorities focusing on Data and Democracy. (Prof. Hu’s recent substack on Warfare, Lawfare, and AI War Talk makes for compelling reading.)
A Week of Events at William & Mary Law School
My visit to William & Mary Law School formed part of a week of conversations and events exploring the relationship between artificial intelligence, law and democratic governance. The program brought together scholars and students to examine how rapidly evolving technologies are beginning to reshape legal institutions, public administration and democratic processes.
The visit began with a series of academic discussions and workshops that created space for deeper engagement with emerging questions in AI law and policy. These sessions encouraged participants to consider how existing legal frameworks respond to technologies increasingly capable of influencing decision-making, public information environments and the operation of government.
As someone whose research focuses on the relationship between AI systems and the Rule of Law (including writing a book on the subject), and the growing use of AI and generative AI in legal practice, these discussions provided an opportunity for me to exchange ideas with international colleagues working across law, policy and technology.
Alongside these scholarly discussions, the visit included engagement with students at William & Mary Law School, offering an opportunity for me to share perspectives on how technological developments are beginning to shape both legal practice and legal education.
The visit also included dining with Mr. Thomas Jefferson (portrayed by the fantastic Kurt Smith, full-time translator of Jefferson for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation) in downtown Williamsburg) – which afforded me the opportunity to ask Jefferson a question that had always puzzled me: ‘As a life-long Lockean, why did you change Locke’s ‘life, liberty, and property’ to ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’ in drafting the Declaration of Independence?’ (The answer provided by Smith, on Jefferson’s behalf, was brilliant – if you want the answer, you will need to go to Williamsburg to ask ‘Jefferson’ yourself.)
Running throughout the week was a strong focus on democracy itself. Discussions reflected on what democracy has meant over the past two and a half centuries and considered how democratic institutions may evolve in an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence and generative technologies. Conversations between scholars from different jurisdictions highlighted the shared challenge of ensuring that technological innovation develops in ways consistent with accountability, transparency and the rule of law.
The Book at the Centre of the Conversation
At the centre of the week’s discussions was a new book by Professor Margaret Hu, AI Law and Policy, published by Aspen Publishing.
The book examines how artificial intelligence is reshaping legal systems, public institutions and democratic governance, and asks how law should respond to technologies that are increasingly capable of influencing decision-making, information flows and civic life.
Accessible to both legal scholars and students, the book explores a range of issues that have quickly become central to contemporary legal debate. These include questions of transparency and explainability in automated systems, accountability for algorithmic decision-making, privacy and autonomy in the digital age, and the broader implications of AI for democratic institutions.
By bringing these themes together, the book offers a structured way of thinking about how law can adapt to technological change while maintaining the foundational principles that underpin democratic governance – and it provided the perfect background on which to anchor the week’s discussions.
AI, Law and the Rule of Law
Alongside my participation in the conference discussions, I contributed perspectives from my own research on the evolving relationship between artificial intelligence, democratic governance and the rule of law.
My work examines how legal systems can respond to emerging technologies while preserving the institutional safeguards that underpin democratic societies.
A central focus of my research is the growing influence of AI systems in legal and governmental decision-making. As technologies increasingly shape how information is generated, analysed and acted upon, they raise important legal questions about transparency, accountability and human oversight – particularly where automated systems affect rights, obligations or access to justice.
My work also considers the rapid emergence of generative AI tools within legal practice, exploring both the opportunities these technologies present and the professional and regulatory challenges they raise.
Many of the themes discussed during the week at William & Mary closely reflected work already underway at Monash Law and within the Victorian legal profession. I have been actively involved in conversations about how lawyers and legal institutions should respond to the growing presence of AI in professional practice. Through continuing professional development programs delivered for the Law Institute of Victoria, I have provided guidance to practitioners on the responsible use of emerging AI tools in legal work.
This engagement with the profession also connects to broader policy discussions. I have contributed to the Victorian Law Reform Commission’s work examining the use of artificial intelligence within the Victorian legal system, which seeks to better understand how technological change may affect courts, legal practice and the administration of justice.
These practical and regulatory questions mirror many of the issues explored during the William & Mary discussions, highlighting how debates about AI, democracy and the rule of law are unfolding across jurisdictions.
Engaging with Students and the Future Legal Profession
A key part of my visit to William & Mary Law School involved engaging directly with students and discussing how emerging technologies are beginning to shape the future of legal education and legal practice.
During the visit, I delivered a presentation outlining some of the major themes of my research on artificial intelligence and the rule of law, as well as the growing role of generative AI tools within the legal profession.
The discussion focused on how rapidly developing technologies are beginning to influence the everyday work of lawyers. Tools capable of generating text, analysing documents and assisting with legal research are already being incorporated into professional workflows.
While these systems offer the potential to improve efficiency and expand access to legal information, they also raise important questions about accuracy, professional responsibility and the appropriate role of human judgment in legal decision-making.
These themes closely reflect my teaching at Monash University’s Faculty of Law, where I convene the elective subject “AI for Lawyers”, offered in both the undergraduate and postgraduate programs (respectively, LAW4545 and LAW5650).
The unit introduces students to the legal, regulatory and professional challenges raised by artificial intelligence, including the responsible use of generative AI tools in legal practice and the broader implications of technological change for legal institutions.
The conversations at William & Mary therefore mirrored discussions already taking place in Monash classrooms, highlighting the growing importance of preparing the next generation of lawyers to engage thoughtfully with technological change.
Looking Forward: Collaboration and the Next 250 Years
As the week of discussions at William & Mary drew to a close, a central theme remained clear: debates about artificial intelligence, law and democracy are no longer confined to theoretical questions about the future. They are already shaping how legal systems, governments and legal professionals respond to technological change.
For me, the visit highlighted the value of international collaboration in addressing these challenges. Conversations with colleagues and students demonstrated that many of the questions currently being explored within the Victorian legal community and at Monash Law, including through the Digital Law Group, are also being examined across other democratic jurisdictions.
Notwithstanding the weather’s attempt to prevent my attendance at the conference, reflecting on the 250th anniversary of American democracy provided an opportunity not only to look back at the institutions that have shaped democratic governance over the past two and a half centuries, but also to consider how those institutions must evolve in the decades ahead.
Holding these conversations at William & Mary Law School — an institution steeped in history with close ties to the founding of the American republic — added a fitting historical dimension, linking contemporary debates about technology and governance with the longer traditions of democratic legal thought.
