Law, Language, And Authority: The Algorithmic Turn

dc.contributor.advisorCraig, Carys
dc.contributor.authorTurnbull, Amanda
dc.date.accessioned2024-10-28T13:37:12Z
dc.date.available2024-10-28T13:37:12Z
dc.date.copyright2024-07-25
dc.date.issued2024-10-28
dc.date.updated2024-10-28T13:37:12Z
dc.degree.disciplineLaw
dc.degree.levelDoctoral
dc.degree.namePhD - Doctor of Philosophy
dc.description.abstractLaw is formed by language and law utilizes language. Law is also like language in that it consists of social rules that aid in the structuring of society. From the time that we first put language into writing, we have been invested in the technologizing of language. There is a clear trajectory of our interest in having machines do things with language that we would otherwise do ourselves. This dissertation investigates how law’s relationship with language changes with the use of algorithmically driven technologies, and correspondingly, the consequences for the changing nature of authority since the use of language in law is closely entwined with the use of language in exercising authority. Drawing on J. L. Austin’s speech-act theory as framework, which scrutinizes language as a form of action and effects rather than as a medium for transmitting information, this dissertation is divided into three pillars that grapple with how algorithms do things with words in the context of law. The first pillar offers an analysis of generative AI and the implications for authorship. The second pillar moves from algorithms and authored words to an examination of algorithms and drafted words, specifically through an analysis of the nature of the emerging “algorithmic contract,” in which an algorithm fills in for human expertise in the contracting process. The third pillar of this dissertation investigates the consequences of executing algorithmic contracts, paying particular attention to the accelerating issue of technology-facilitated gender-based violence in the ride-hailing industry. Taken together these three pillars have implications for understanding law’s authority as we adopt increasingly sophisticated technologies in society. This final chapter on authority taps into cyberfeminism to help elucidate the changing nature of authority as we delegate authority, often unintentionally, to algorithms. The findings drawn from this investigation offer solutions to some of the legal conundrums posed by algorithmically driven technologies that do things with language. These findings also have import for the relationship between law and language and for better understanding the nature of law in the Algorithmic Turn.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10315/42383
dc.languageen
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectLaw
dc.subject.keywordsLaw and technology
dc.subject.keywordsAlgorithms
dc.subject.keywordsLanguage
dc.subject.keywordsContract law
dc.subject.keywordsCopyright
dc.subject.keywordsAuthorship
dc.subject.keywordsTechnology facilitated gender-based violence
dc.subject.keywordsAuthority
dc.titleLaw, Language, And Authority: The Algorithmic Turn
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

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