About CLAIR
AI and robotics are integrated in all aspects of society – in the private as well as in the public sector. The technological advances are developing fast and is easy to be put to use in everyday decisions – from small companies to large public entities.
This presents users and producers with complex legal and ethical challenges: We want to gain all the advantages of using AI and automatization, we also want to make sure this happens in a responsible human-centred manner, where fundamental rights and societal values continue to be respected.
CLAIR is established to address these complex dilemmas and societal balances and provide more knowledge for the benefit of the democratic dialogue, academic discourse, legislators, practitioners, and legal education.
Why CLAIR in law?
AI and robotics are inherently interdisciplinary, but law provides the normative foundation for how society and its public and private institutions are organised. It underpins governance, rights protection, accountability and societal coherence. For this reason, CLAIR is anchored in the field of law.
Legal theory, legal systems and a strong legal education form the basis for trustworthy and fair societal, technological and organisational development. It remains essential as technological change accelerates at unprecedented speed. Establishing a research centre grounded in law is therefore not only timely, but necessary. Anchoring the centre in law ensures:
Normative Authority
Legal scholarship establishes enforceable standards and democratic legitimacy, ensuring that governance frameworks rest on law rather than policy preferences, public sentiment, or technical constraints.
Regulatory Relevance
Law translates ethical principles and technical insights into binding rules, making it indispensable for any regulatory approach to AI and robotics.
Institutional Impact
Legislators, courts and public authorities depend on legal expertise to interpret and apply existing rules to emerging technologies such as AI and robotics, as well as to implement new regulatory frameworks, including the EU AI Act.
Philosophical Foundation
Law is not merely a set of rules; it is a normative and philosophical system. AI challenges fundamental legal concepts - autonomy, responsibility and justice - and raises new questions about the role of law in society. A centre grounded in law is uniquely positioned to address these questions through jurisprudential and theoretical inquiry.
Educational Leadership
Legal education must evolve to prepare future legal professionals for an AI driven world. A law based centre can lead this transformation by integrating technological literacy, ethics and critical thinking into university curricula and professional programmes.
Cross Disciplinary Integration
A law anchored centre can integrate technological, ethical and social scientific perspectives while maintaining law’s core normative function.
5 pillars of CLAIR
Clair will contribute to research and knowledge dissemination within 5 thematic units:
- AI AI/robotics and Fundamental Rights - privacy (Ayo) and non-discrimination (Vincenzo
- AI/robotics and Public Governance (Jøren)
- AI/robotics and Businesses (Niels Skovmand)
- AI/robotics and jurisprudence, ethics and epistemology (Morten Kjær)
- AI/robotics and the legal education (Per Andersen/Nina)
Key contributions of CLAIR
CLAIR brings new knowledge to the intersection of AI and law, strengthens legal education, and deepens the theoretical foundations of law.
By combining research, innovation, and collaboration, CLAIR positions itself as a leading hub for understanding how AI and robotics shape society - both in theory and in practice.
Innovating Legal Education
CLAIR will help modernise legal education by integrating technology literacy, robotics ethics, and interdisciplinary skills into teaching. This prepares students and professionals for the realities of an AI driven world and moves towards new standards for future ready legal training.
Creating Societal Impact Through Research
CLAIR’s research pillars will show how AI and robotics influence key areas of law—such as contract, tort, criminal, administrative and business law. The centre will develop insights and guiding principles to safeguard rights and democratic values as technology becomes an even larger part of everyday life.
Advancing Legal Theory
CLAIR will contribute to new thinking about the foundations of law. By combining empirical studies with philosophical research, the centre will explore how the legal system should evolve in a society increasingly shaped by technology.
Building a Global Network for the benefit of future societies
CLAIR aims to establish an international network of research centres focused on AI, robotics and law. This network will support knowledge sharing, joint projects and the exchange of expertise—driving innovation and comparative research far beyond what any single centre could accomplish on its own.