Rise of the Robots: Challenging automated decision-making in government

Bookings for this course are now closed.  If you have booked a place please make sure you have read the primer materials and watched the video / webinar ‘A crash course in automated systems’ which have been made available to you in our learning portal.

Chairs: Angela Jackman QC (Hon), Simpson Millar and Nikolaus Grubeck, Monckton Chambers

Facilitators:

• Matt Ahluwalia, Garden Court Chambers
• Will Bordell, Blackstone Chambers
• Tatiana Kazim, Public Law Project
• Alexandra Sinclair, Public Law Project

This workshop aims to equip public lawyers with the practical knowledge and skills required to challenge automated government decisions.

The workshop will have two main elements:

• First, delegates will be given access to a set of videos and other training materials via PLP’s learning management system (LMS). These materials provide an introduction to automated decision-making in government and the legal frameworks which regulate it. Delegates will be asked to complete a small amount of preparation with these materials prior to the workshop.
• Second, delegates will come together for a focused, three-hour workshop, conducted via Zoom. The aim of this workshop is to apply the principles covered in the training materials to two hypothetical scenarios. For each scenario, delegates will first split into smaller groups, supervised by a facilitator, to work through a set of questions, before coming back together for a plenary session, chaired by an experienced lawyer, for discussion and reflection. We are providing STTR (Speech to Text Reporting) for the workshop element of the event, though regretfully not for the training prep.

Pre-workshop preparation for delegates

• Watch the opening video on PLP’s online learning portal: ‘Opening talk: A crash course on automated systems’
• Read the primers drafted by PLP
  • Automated systems
  • Legal frameworks
• Complete the quiz
• Read the two scenarios and begin to think through the questions (these will be sent the week before the workshop)
  • Scenario 1: based on the application of algorithms to A-level results
  • Scenario 2: based on the application of algorithms to detecting sham marriages for immigration purposes
• Optional extras: watch any of the other videos on the LMS, on administrative law, data protection law, human rights and equality law, and lessons from litigation

Presented with the kind support of 11KBW and the Legal Education Foundation.

Please note that there are only very limited student tickets available for this workshop as it is intended solely for practitioners.

All bookings are processed by our Events Team and it might take 1-2 business days for you to receive confirmation.

For any enquiries, please email PLP Events.