Judge AI: The Rise of Machine Adjudication in the U.S. Legal System | Eric Posner | Ryerson Lecture

The 2026 Nora and Edward Ryerson Lecture was presented by Eric Posner, the Kirkland and Ellis Distinguished Service Professor of Law and the Arthur and Esther Kane Research Chair. Delivered on April 16, 2026 in Friedman Hall at the David Rubenstein Forum, Posner’s talk, titled “Judge AI: The Rise of Machine Adjudication in the U.S. Legal System,” examined how advances in large language models (LLMs) are reshaping long-standing assumptions about judgment, accuracy, and authority in the law. Posner’s scholarship spans antitrust law, financial regulation, and constitutional and international law, with a recurring focus on how legal institutions respond to broader societal change. In recent years, Posner has turned his attention to artificial intelligence and its implications for legal decision-making. The Ryerson Lectures originated through a bequest from Nora and Edward Ryerson to recognize outstanding University of Chicago faculty members. Learn more about the history of the Nora and Edward L. Ryerson Lecture here: https://www.uchicago.edu/who-we-are/history-and-traditions/the-nora-and-edward-ryerson-lecture Read the story on UChicago News: https://news.uchicago.edu/story/how-do-ai-judges-compare-human-ones-its-complicated-says-uchicago-scholar ➡ Subscribe: http://bit.ly/UCHICAGOytSubscribe About #UChicago: Since its founding in 1890, the University of Chicago has been a destination for rigorous inquiry and field-defining research. This transformative academic experience empowers students and scholars to challenge conventional thinking in pursuit of original ideas. #UChicago on the Web: Home: http://bit.ly/UCHICAGO-homepage News: http://bit.ly/UCHICAGO-news Facebook: http://bit.ly/UCHICAGO-FB X: http://bit.ly/UCHICAGO-TW Instagram: http://bit.ly/UCHICAGO-IG University of Chicago on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/uchicago *** ACCESSIBILITY: If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please email digicomm@uchicago.edu.