Winter School on AI & Justice: A Successful First Edition

From 19 to 23 January 2026, Sciences Po Law School and Sorbonne Center for Artificial Intelligence - SCAI jointly hosted the first edition of the Winter School on Artificial Intelligence and Justice. Over five intensive days, 25 students from law, computer science, mathematics, sociology, and public affairs explored how artificial intelligence is reshaping contemporary understandings of justice.

The programme examined AI beyond the judicial sphere, addressing its broader social and regulatory implications: algorithmic discrimination, fairness metrics, explainability, accountability, and the evolving European regulatory framework. Bringing together leading scholars, regulators, and practitioners, the Winter School fostered sustained dialogue between legal reasoning and technical expertise.

A central highlight was the interdisciplinary legal hackathon, organised in partnership with Clifford Chance and focused on algorithmic discrimination in fraud detection systems. Working in stakeholder-based teams, students developed legal and governance strategies addressing responsibility allocation, access to explanation, documentation duties, and systemic risk. One outstanding participant from the winning team will be awarded an exclusive internship at Clifford Chance.

The week concluded with a visit to Google’s Paris office, offering participants insight into compliance and explainability challenges in large-scale AI systems.

This inaugural edition confirmed the importance of interdisciplinary training in addressing the normative and distributive effects of AI. A second edition is already planned for January 2027.

« The Winter School Program on Justice and AI is a brilliant experience! The panel of courses offers an immersion in the technicalities of AI and Justice. From a sciencespiste perspective, it was great to explore the smaller, more grounded, picture as well as the bigger picture which we are more used to. Whether you are a neophyte or a becoming-specialist there will be material for you. Most importantly, the program is extremely fun. The week is tailored for us to enjoy our time. The Hackathon organised at Clifford Chance is an amazing experience. It was super exciting to play around with my team with everything we had learned. Finally, the visit at Google ended the week on an inspiring note. I was particularly touched by the discovery of the Google Arts and Culture Lab. From this week, I gained motivation, much curiosity, and new friends! Thank you to Sciences Po, Sorbonne University, Clifford Chance and Google for organising such a great program. »

Ève Alaia Le Riche, Master's student in Economic Law, Sciences Po Law School

« As a first-year student in the joint master’s program in Law and Finance, participating in the Winter School on AI and Justice was an enriching experience. This one-week program was an introduction to one of the most emerging issues of our time: the transformation of law and justice in the age of AI. The Winter School was a unique mix of theoretical insights and practical applications. It was the ideal platform for students like me who are eager to explore the intersection of technology and legal frameworks. We had the chance to think of how AI is reshaping our world and to examine how legal norms can—and must—guide this transformation. The highlight of this program was the hackathon organized at Clifford Chance. This hands-on experience allowed us to apply the knowledge we had gained during the first days. Working alongside peers from both legal and technical backgrounds, we tackled real-world problems, the case of a discriminative algorithm widely used by banks across Europe. The hackathon reinforced our understanding of the subject matter but also fostered work cooperation and cross-field interactions. This Winter School inspired me to continue exploring this dynamic field. I am grateful to Sciences Po, Sorbonne University, Clifford Chance and Google for creating such an impactful program! »

Salim Cochereau, student in the joint master's program in Law and Finance, Sciences Po Law School

« I took part in the Winter School on AI and Justice, jointly organised by Sciences Po and the Sorbonne Cluster for Artificial Intelligence, and it was a particularly valuable experience. Across the week, we attended thought-provoking conferences on data, on how fairness is defined and operationalised in algorithms and AI systems, and on real-life case studies illustrating the concrete consequences of automated decision-making, especially in contexts involving fraud detection and discrimination. We then put these concepts into practice during a hackathon hosted at Clifford Chance, where we acted as a regulating authority. This role forced us to take a balanced view, as we attempted to understand the perspectives of start-ups, banks, and affected individuals, and tested how regulatory decisions can remain both effective and fair when incentives and constraints diverge. The programme also offered an in-house perspective through a visit to the Google France headquarters, including insightful sessions on copyright law and AI, which helped connect legal theory to how these issues are handled operationally inside a major technology company. Many thanks to Rebecca Mignot-Mahdavi, Arnaud Latil, Séverine Dusollier, and all the organisers, Dessislava Savova and her team for hosting us at Clifford Chance, as well as Victor Fabre and his team at Google, for making the Winter School such a successful and insightful experience ! »

Cécile Freiin von Roenne, Master's student in Economic Law, Sciences Po Law School

Cover image caption: Visit to the Google AI Lab, 23 January 2026.