New technologies are emerging and evolving rapidly, often outpacing the law’s ability to keep up. Artificial intelligence (AI) is no different – it is challenging how we have traditionally handled matters such as liability and intellectual property.
Legal scholars and practitioners are having to address unprecedented issues, which inspired Eren Karaburun, a 2L student at GW Law, to start GW Law’s new AI Forum to create a space for the GW community to come together and discuss these topics.
“I think lawyers who go to law school now have a professional responsibility to have at least a baseline familiarity with the emerging technologies,” Karaburun said. “I wanted to have a dedicated forum, a place people can come during lunch, to engage with multidisciplinary perspectives.”
The forum seeks to expand awareness and conversation about AI among people with a variety of backgrounds, not just those interested in technology. It creates a low‑pressure space to explore AI together, helping students feel confident engaging with it and discussing its legal, ethical, and policy implications.
“When you combine curiosity with literacy, you’ll get competency. People will have the foundation to continue and improve,” Karaburun explained.
The group promotes AI literacy by hosting a range of events, including professional panels, demos, and student-led sessions. Last semester, the forum launched a new program that invites second and third-year law students developing AI-related legal note topics to present their research over lunch.
A recent session examined how Albania is incorporating AI into its system of government and the governance and accountability questions that arise. Another event addressed whether federal law should preempt state law on AI and other novel legal questions.
Karaburun emphasized that the forum is not just for experts or early adopters. “Any GW student or faculty member can join the events,” he said. He sees the forum as a way to break down siloes, encouraging discourse and information sharing across schools, disciplines, and levels of expertise.
“Whenever someone is skeptical, I encourage them to come share their opinion, because we can all learn from one another,” Karaburun said.
Though he was warned that starting an organization as a first-year law student could take up a lot of time, Karaburun has always liked building things and bringing people together to solve problems.
“I see an opportunity to build something that could outlast my time at GW Law and prompt us all to think more deeply about these questions,” he said. “How should we integrate these technologies and make responsible decisions about using them? It all starts with the first conversation.”
You can stay engaged with the forum through their newsletter, LinkedIn group, and Discord. If you’re interested in joining or collaborating with the group, reach out to Eren Karaburun (erenk
law [dot] gwu [dot] edu (erenk[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu)) or the AI Forum email (erenklaw [dot] gwu [dot] edu (aiforum[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu)) for more information.
