AI and criminal law: the future for the courts

This event is hosted by the Centre and the Regulation and Design () Lab.

About the speaker
Sky Ma’s research interests lie in comparative criminal law and procedure, evidence, legal ethics, and law & technology. Sky is a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law (MPI-CSL), and an affiliated researcher at the Wisconsin Law School. Sky received her SJD from UCLA and a second PhD from Tsinghua University. She was a Hauser Global Fellow at NYU Law, a Max Weber Fellow at the EUI, and a CIVICA short-visiting fellow at the Sciences Po Law School.

Sky currently completes her book manuscript on the criminal defense lawyers’ movement in China while deepening her expertise in oral history methods. At the same time, she works on her research projects on the impact of AI on courts, judicial decision-making, and criminal law theory.

Sky integrates socio-legal theory with empirical and interdisciplinary methods in her scholarship. She is always curious about how law operates across different jurisdictions and cultures. Sky enjoys exchanging ideas with scholars from diverse backgrounds.

About the project
AI in Judicial Decision-Making and the Digitalization of Courts
This project, led by the Max Planck Institute, explores how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence are reshaping judicial decision-making. It combines empirical research and comparative legal analysis to examine how courts across different jurisdictions are integrating AI into their processes, particularly in civil and criminal cases.

The research focuses on both practical and systemic impacts, including changes to evidence, procedure, and court structures. It also addresses broader normative questions about the role of technology in the justice system, especially its implications for judicial authority, legitimacy, and public trust.

Overall, the project offers timely insights into how AI is influencing not only how courts operate, but also how justice itself is understood in an increasingly digital age.

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Host or Publisher Edinburgh Law School, University of Edinburgh