Cuatrecasas and University of Deusto hold III International Congress on Law and AI

Cuatrecasas and the University of Deusto Law School, in collaboration with Marsh McLennan, held the III International Congress on Law and Artificial Intelligence on March 27 and 28. The event brought together leading law and technology experts in Bilbao to discuss the implications of AI on fundamental rights and its impact on several sectors. An essential discussion forum to understand the challenges and opportunities posed by AI in the legal field that, in its different sessions, brought together over 400 students and professionals.

The seminar was opened by Inmaculada Herbosa, professor of civil law at the University of Deusto; David Fernández de Retana, lecturer in civil law at Deusto and litigation and arbitration partner at Cuatrecasas; and José Ramón Intxaurbe, dean of Deusto Law School. The inaugural lecture on “Artificial Intelligence and the law: the next frontier,” was given by Cuatrecasas partner Omar Puertas, who highlighted: “Technological evolution is huge, every seven months the machine—which is inevitable and irreversible—doubles its analytical capacity. In the face of increased intelligence and capacity, we have to handle change with more training, more integration and knowing what we want from technology. The future is not something that happens to us, it is something we design ourselves with the decisions we take now. If we do not do it, AI will.”

Implications of AI on fundamental rights

The first two sessions focused on the various implications of AI on fundamental rights, from different perspectives and for different sectors. Esperanza Gallego, professor of commercial law at the University of Alicante, addressed the issue from a private law perspective; Francesco Astone, lecturer on private law at the University of Foggia, spoke about the administration of justice and fundamental rights; Jon López, lecturer on criminal law at the University of Deusto, analyzed criminal liability arising from the use of AI; and David Fernández, professor of public international law at Deusto, discussed the balance between the use of new technologies and protecting fundamental rights in operations by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) and the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA).

Next, María Burzaco, lecturer on administrative law at Comillas Pontifical University Law School (ICADE), examined public administration governance using AI; Óscar Monje, professor of civil law at the University of Deusto, focused on the right to healthcare talking about the use and limits of AI in the health sector; Javier Lete, lecturer on civil law at the University of Santiago de Compostela, addressed the marketing of safe products and its impact on consumers; and Mª Dolores Mas, professor of civil law at the University of Valencia, explored parametric insurance and new technologies applied to the consequences of weather phenomena and, more specifically, to the real example of recent catastrophic flash flooding in Valencia.

The third session, sponsored by Marsh McLennan, dealt with the risks and liability arising from the use of AI in the business environment in sectors such as energy and insurance, focusing on cybersecurity and the role of administrative bodies. Sofía García-Ollauri, head of Financial and Professional Claims Advocacy at Marsh; María Ortiz de Guinea, head of Casualty in Risk and Insurance Management at Iberdrola; Álvaro Fraile, Global Cybersecurity Services director at Ayesa; and Ainhoa Barrutia, expert litigation lawyer at Cuatrecasas, participated in the session.

Then there was a panel discussion on the right to due process, AI and the legal reasoning to answer the question of whether or not robot judges should be allowed. The moderator was Carmen Adán del Río, senior prosecutor of the Basque Country, with the participation of José María Macías, Constitutional Court judge; Antonio García, senior judge of the Civil Division of the Supreme Court; and Juan Antonio García-Amado, professor of philosophy of law at the University of León. The experts’ main conclusion was that judicial activity involves an ethical commitment and delegating it to an automated system could be dangerous. This is because justice is not a simple application of the rules, but a human exercise influenced by social reality and by interpreting the particular circumstances and subtleties of each case.

AI and protecting rights in the private sphere

Thursday concluded with a session in which Fabio Addis, lecturer on private law at Sapienza University of Rome, spoke about the impact of AI on scientific production. Then, Rafael Sánchez-Aristi, professor of civil law at Rey Juan Carlos University (Madrid) and expert intellectual property partner at Cuatrecasas, addressed training AI systems and intellectual property rights.

Francesco Ricci, lecturer on private law at LUM Giuseppe Degennaro University (Bari), analyzed the dialogue between humans as a fundamental right and epistemic justice. Lastly, Donato Maria Matera, postdoctoral researcher and lecturer on data protection and e-contracts at the University of Brescia, closed the session with a talk on neuromarketing and freedom.

Public-private partnership and fundamental rights

Friday started with a session focused on public-private partnership in the business environment and the protection of fundamental rights, with Rebeca Carpi, lecturer on civil law at ESADE Ramon Llull University, acting as moderator. The speakers addressed key issues such as the right to digital identity, the use of AI in business management and the possible discriminatory effects of AI on labor relations. Participating in this session were Alberto Emparanza, professor of commercial law at the University of the Basque Country; Javier Arrieta, professor of employment law at the University of Deusto; and Aleida Alcaide, director general of AI at the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Civil Service, who explained Spain’s position in the area of AI and the government’s strategic context aligned to that of the European Union: “The authorities must ensure that no one is left behind in this revolution. We need to have our own strategic sovereignty to remain competitive. It is very important that we know how it works and what implications it has to be able to integrate this technology into Spain’s production sectors, and thus promote innovation and the entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

The role of the media and institutions

Javier Moreno, director of El País-Autonomous University of Madrid School of Journalism, moderated a panel on the role of the media in the context of AI and the right to information. He was joined by Lola García, deputy director of La Vanguardia; Javier Muñoz, general counsel and secretary of the board of Prisa Media; and Zigor Aldama, journalist at Diario El Correo. The experts analyzed how AI is transforming journalism and the importance of maintaining ethics and veracity in the digital era.

José Ramón Berecibar, managing partner of the Cuatrecasas single office in the Basque Country, highlighted the importance of guaranteeing citizens’ rights in view of the progress in AI. Also participating in this panel discussion were Juan Ignacio Pérez, Minister of Science, Universities and Innovation for the Basque Government, and Félix Bolaños, Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes, who participated online and stated: “The aim is for technological development to be at the service of society, aligned with democratic values, transparency, efficiency and accessibility, and for it to be a source of rights and opportunities, not inequality. We have clear principles, we are creating the tools and we have examples that give us real grounds for optimism in light of this revolution.”

This second day also included two keynote speeches. The first, by Ignacio García-Perrote, professor of employment law at the National University of Distance Education (UNED) and senior judge of the Labor Division of the Supreme Court, on new technologies and fundamental rights from an employment perspective. The second, on how AI impacts the civil liability of defective products, was given by Mariano Yzquierdo, professor of civil law at the Complutense University of Madrid and counsel of Cuatrecasas.

Finally, Juan José Etxeberria, dean of the University of Deusto, and Javier Fontcuberta, managing partner of Cuatrecasas, closed the congress. Fontcuberta stated: “I think that the responsibility lies in our universities and law firms to train our future lawyers based on two great pillars: first, that young professionals have access to the sources and have a better understanding of the law to be able to question their own rationale and what the machine is able to offer; and second, to develop critical thinking and foster our future lawyers to have the necessary skills to continue developing it. There lies the success of business law in the future.”