Dr. Margarita Amaxopoulou, a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Research Fellow in Oxford’s Faculty of Law, is leading a project that examines how authority and expertise are being redistributed in the regulation of artificial intelligence. Her research investigates the growing influence of technologists in shaping, writing, and enforcing AI governance frameworks—areas traditionally dominated by legal professionals. This shift, she argues, represents not merely a change in professional participation but a transformation in the functioning of legal systems themselves. The increasing involvement of engineers and data scientists in regulatory and compliance processes, through mechanisms such as standardization bodies, certification systems, and algorithmic audit schemes, has allowed technical norms to gain legal or quasi-legal authority. These developments echo historical moments when other expert groups, such as economists, displaced legal voices in policymaking, redefining notions of justice, fairness, and accountability.
The project explores how law both enables and responds to this transfer of authority, particularly within the UK and EU contexts. It analyzes how legal and institutional frameworks delegate regulatory power to technical expertise and how these delegations affect law’s capacity to maintain democratic principles and accountability. Central to this inquiry is the question of how foundational legal concepts—such as fairness, equality, and the rule of law—are reinterpreted when mediated through technological perspectives that may prioritize efficiency, innovation, or market growth. Ultimately, Dr. Amaxopoulou’s work contributes to an emerging body of scholarship concerned with safeguarding democratic values in the digital era, emphasizing that the regulation of AI is not solely a technical undertaking but also a profoundly political and societal one.
For enquiries, email: margarita.amaxopoulou@law.ox.ac.uk
