Torsten and Ragnar Söderberg Professorship in Law to Peter Wahlgren

Professor Peter Wahlgren has been awarded the Torsten and Ragnar Söderberg Professor of Law for the period 2019-2023.

On the occasion of his appointment, Peter Wahlgren gave an inaugural lecture at Stockholm University entitled "From Lex Scripta to Law 4.0". The lecture was held on Wednesday, January 29, 2020 and began with the former holder of the professorship, Antonina Bakardjieva, presenting her research.

The professorship will be dedicated to a research project on regulatory technology in a digital environment characterized by the increasing application of artificial intelligence (AI).

The application of new technologies such as AI, systems thinking and various forms of IT solutions may have dramatic consequences for regulatory technologies and processes. The new technologies can be used in areas that have so far been legally regulated. Legal regulation can in many cases be replaced by software, which making legal regulation irrelevant or unnecessary, while it can contribute to more efficient regulation.

The use of AI and robotic systems raises questions about how technology can replace democratically developed laws and what normative, rule of law and democratic consequences this may have. Is there a risk of democracy being replaced by technocracy? For example, problems may arise regarding the requirements for publicity and transparency in the legislative process and the application of the law. Furthermore, the project raises questions about the boundary between law and IT technology and how to prevent abuse and manipulation when new technologies are applied in areas that have traditionally been legally regulated. The project will also analyze changes in the legislative process in the light of the internationalization of law and the demands for simplification and efficiency. One of the aims of the project is to analyze how regulatory models can be designed and evaluated based on the above-mentioned issues.

Peter Wahlgren will collaborate and participate in other development projects related to the study of the relationship between AI and forensic informatics, such as self-driving cars, e-health and smart houses.

About the professorship
The professorship was established by the Torsten Söderberg Foundation and the Ragnar Söderberg Foundation jointly donating SEK 25 million to the Faculty of Law's 100th anniversary in 2007 at Stockholm University. The donation will be used to finance a research professorship in law that can be held by professors at the Faculty for a maximum period of four years at a time. During this period, the holder shall normally devote all his/her time to research and is thus released from his/her teaching obligations.