UNESCO global MOOC on AI and the Rule of Law engaged thousands of judicial operators

The UNESCO Global MOOC on AI and the Rule of Law is an introductory course engaging judicial operators in a global and timely discussion around AI application in and impact on the rule of law. Structured around six modules, it unpacks the opportunities and risks of the increasing adoption of AI technologies across justice systems and AI’s impact for the administration of justice, particularly concerning human rights, AI ethics and governance issues.

The objective of the course was to strengthen capacities of judicial operators worldwide to protect human rights, democratic principles, and the rule of law in relation to the use of AI. Judges and lawyers were the biggest groups of stakeholders who participated in the representing more than half of the participants. Fifty percent of the participants in the course were women, as per to the available data.

An evaluation showed that the participants strongly agreed that after taking the course they have a better understanding of artificial intelligence, its implications in justice systems and its impact on human rights.

The course is available in seven languages. Apart from the course content, the initial six-week phase of the MOOC was accompanied by two interactive sessions around the digitalization of justice systems and data protection, AI-based judicial decision-making and the role of human oversight, as well as an active online forum for exchange of knowledge among judicial operators worldwide.

On average the course participants strongly agreed to recommend the course to their peers and expressed interest in taking part in subsequent trainings on AI from UNESCO.

The course was offered as part of UNESCO’s Judges’ Initiative which has trained over 23,000 judicial operators since 2014. Through publications, toolkits and both online and on-the-ground training, the initiative builds the capacities of judicial operators to engage with emerging challenges and protect fundamental human rights and the freedom of expression. 

The course was developed by UNESCO and The Future Society, with the support of Cetic.br|NIC.br, the National Judicial College, and IEEE SA. It was made possible by the kind contributions of the UNESCO Multi Donor Programme on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists (MDP) and the Open Society Foundations.

The course is still accessible online and can be taken as a self-paced course.