Every month brings new tools, new applications, new promises: contracts that write themselves, court decisions at the touch of a button, chatbots that guide you through your asylum process, bureaucracy made easy. Digitalization is a central theme of state modernization and thus an update for democracy. But what is hype – and what is reality? How are power, access, and fairness changing in the legal system? And what role do lawyers actually play in all of this? In this seminar, students gained insight into the rapid developments at the intersection of law and technology, what is already possible today, where the dangers lie – and what awaits us in the next two years. The seminar also explored practical tools. What are current startups doing in the lab? In which direction can the digital state transform? Finally, in small groups, participants developed their own initial ideas and simple prototypes for legal tech or AI applications.

At the same time, they were to gain practical insights into technological design possibilities in the legal context by developing their own initial applications.

Another focus was on analyzing interdisciplinary issues at the intersection of law, technology, and society, and on reflecting in a structured way on complex future questions at the intersection of law, automation, and justice. Students were also to critically examine the transformation of legal practice and state authority in the course of digital transformation.

Furthermore, the seminar aimed to raise awareness of issues of power distribution, access to justice, and responsibility in dealing with AI systems, and to develop a deeper understanding of the possibilities for shaping law in the digital age and the role of various social actors.