Dr Melis Özdel Delivers Seminar on AI Producers’ Liability at the University of Tokyo

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Dr Melis Özdel, Founder of the UCL Autonomous Shipping Project, recently delivered a seminar at the University of Tokyo, hosted by the Japanese Maritime Law Association.

The seminar examined AI producers’ liability under English and Japanese law, focusing on how existing legal frameworks should evolve in response to the emergence of maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS). The discussion considered the allocation of responsibility and risk where AI systems assume functions traditionally performed by a ship’s master and crew.

The seminar provided an opportunity for academic exchange with distinguished scholars, including Professor Tomotaka Fujita (President of the Japanese Maritime Law Association), Professor Gen Goto, and Professors Yurika Ishii, Manami Sasaoka and Kengo Minami.

As Dr Özdel observed, “Discussing these issues across legal traditions helps us question our assumptions and consider more carefully how the arrival of AI producers may reshape established approaches to responsibility and risk allocation in shipping.”

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