A recent story in Legal Tech News indicates how seriously legal educators in China are investigating the potential effects of artificial intelligence (AI) on the practice of law. Until now, almost all AI-related legal education around the world has been grounded in US-derived knowledge and experience, and the Chinese venture is one response to the growing need for similar approaches to other legal systems in other countries.

In late December of last year, Peking University Law School, in partnership with big-data-analysis software provider Gridsum, celebrated the opening of a research centre that will investigate ways in which artificial intelligence can be used in China’s legal system. The opening of the Peking University Legal AI Lab and Research Institute coincides with strategies by the State Council and Ministry of Industry to make significant investments in AI research, development and regulation across the nation’s industries.

The Legal Tech News article quotes the CEO of Gridsum as predicting that “The combination of Peking University’s highly experienced legal community and our cutting-edge AI and big data technology will directly benefit the development and application of AI across China’s judicial system as it migrates towards a Smart Court initiative.”

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