The “Macao-Brazil Dialogue: Symposium on Law and Artificial Intelligence”, co-hosted by the Faculty of Law of the University of Macau (UM), the Federal University of Tocantins (UFT) in Brazil, and the Higher School of Judges of Tocantins (ESMAT) in Brazil, was held at UM. The symposium brought together scholars, judges, researchers and students from Macao and Brazil to conduct in-depth discussions on the impacts and challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) in the legal field.
At the opening ceremony of the symposium, UM Vice Rector Rui Martins emphasized UM’s important role as a dialogue platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. Tang Xiaoqing, Dean of UM’s Faculty of Law, explored the dual challenges of advancing and regulating the application of AI while leveraging it to enhance judicial efficiency and fairness. Marco Villas Boas, Dean of ESMAT, highlighted the opportunities brought by AI and advocated for the ethical and responsible use of the technology. Tarsis Barreto Oliveira, Director of the Course on Judicial Guarantees and Human Rights at UFT, affirmed the strategic significance of the symposium in promoting cooperation between Brazil and Macao in related fields.
The symposium was divided into two main sessions. The first session was conducted in Portuguese, with thematic presentations covering topics such as the impact of AI on judicial effectiveness in Brazil, an analysis of conflicts in regulatory frameworks (the EU AI Act and arbitration), challenges in liability attribution, governance and data protection, as well as corporate governance, generative AI and intellectual property protection, and the practical application of environmental governance initiatives such as the “Horus Project”.
The second session was delivered in English. The first presentation analyzed algorithmic justice in Brazil’s judicial system and discussed the conceptual differences between active generative AI and passive generative AI. Subsequent presentations explored controversies in global AI governance, the application of AI in China’s criminal justice, regulatory prospects in Brazil, the integration of AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) in the judicial ecosystem, differences in data governance between China and Brazil, ethical issues of AI in the biomedical field, and the boundaries of AI application in criminal law, among other topics.
At the closing ceremony, Manuel Trigo, Director of the Legal Research Centre of UM’s Faculty of Law, along with its Deputy Directors Jiang Yiwa, Marco Villas Boas and Tarsis Barreto Oliveira, delivered concluding remarks and affirmed the achievements of the symposium.
