The Sapien institute is run by Dr. Jacob Livingston Slosser. I am currently an Assistant Professor of Law and Cogniton at the University of Copenhagen faculty of law affiliated with the Center for European, Comparative, and Constitutional Legal Studies; the iCourts Center on International Courts; and the Pioneer Centre for Artificial Intelligence.

I serve as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the IECLO International & European Criminal Law Observatory at the University of Salerno and as a Fellow at the Information Society Law Center at the University of Milan.

I specialize in rules and cognition. I seek to answer, broadly, how agents (human, AI or otherwise) behave under the force of rules, standards and principles. This includes the methodologies such as:

  • using cognitive linguistic analysis for legal texts;

  • modelling and experimenting with changes in linguistic framing to affect judicial interpretation,

  • conceptualising trust in AI systems, cooperative intelligence decision making models, among others.

Externally funded projects have covered the design and implications of hybrid legal intelligence systems for administrative law, European Human Rights Law, and society at large.

My work and interests span a broad range of fields that cover the phenomenon of meaning making, technology, and human behaviour. Which makes sense, as I have bounced around faculties, countries, and aisles at the bookstore trying to make sense of it all. But I have found a lovely adopted country in Denmark, so hopefully the country will stay the same. I have been lucky enough to have my work invited for inclusion on advisory committees on AI for NGOs presented to the European Parliament, international projects on cognitive legal theory and legal linguistics, interdisciplinary conferences in cognitive science, and workshops for PhD schools, among others.

Further interests include: empirical legal studies, digitalization and culture, conceptual ontogenisis, and feminist legal studies.

I also have two cats.

Research Projects

Q-Shift

Q-Shift aims to provide the first systematic exploration of the cultural and social significance of Quantum AI through three lenses.

First, we will explore the importance of technological narratives related to QC and Quantum AI. Framing, particularly in the early stages of technology research, can have a significant impact on the diversity of research agendas and participating disciplines, as well as on stakeholders who drive implementation. Our aim is to parse out the impact of narratives from a pan-European perspective to make sure that the public good and the beneficial impact for citizens plays an equal role in this early stage of research. Second, we will explore the impact of QC on decision-making processes ranging from individual actors to collective organisms. Accessibility and distributive justice play a key role in computer-aided decision-making and precautions have to be taken to ensure that Quantum AI will not increase tensions towards undesirable disparities. Third, we will examine QC’s systemic perturbation of foundational legal principles and processes. We aim to discern the legal implications of introducing Quantum AI into responsible and accountable decision-making and analyse to what extent such computer-assisted decision-making can be said to enjoy democratic legitimacy.

Through this project, we will provide an empirical basis for the identification of factors that influence the trajectories of Quantum AI. We will also develop tools to foster Quantum AI literacy, i.e. the ability to understand the strengths and limitations of various applications. Our results will equip people to better anticipate the ramifications of widely adopted Quantum AI for individuals, organisations and communities as a whole, in order to help mitigate risks and best harness its potential.

Funded by the CHANSEconsortium

COLLAGE

COde, Law & LAnGuage

Some technological advancements compel society to reassess if their legal regulations are sufficiently able to address the challenges those technologies bring with them. More often than not, the answers to the legal questions these technologies pose are shaped by how they are framed. The aim of COde, Law, and LanguAGe (COLLAGE) is to investigate how linguistic framing affects legal responses to new technology, specifically genetic modification and algorithmic decision making. COLLAGE will explore how a change in the language, which is used to describe a new technology, can affect a change in judgment.

Funded by the Carlsbergfondet grant no. CF18-0481

PACTA

Public Administration and Computational Transparency in Algorithms

Machine learning and associated technologies have progressed significantly over the last decade profoundly transforming our economy, our social relations, and our information retrieval practices. Now, these new technologies, with both their promise and their dangers, are being transferred into public administration in the form of algorithmic decision making (ADM). ADM is challenging traditional administrative practices by introducing an untested way of producing administrative decisions that have the ability affect the rights of individual citizens and questions the legality of the practice itself. PACTA investigates the fundamental problems relating to the interaction of legality in public administration and ADM. We do so by focusing on the following three areas of public administration: welfare administration; policing/criminal investigation; and, general problems in administrative law

Funded by Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond – Independent Research Fund Denmark Grant number: 8091-00025B