HNLU Raipur Hosted International Conference On AI's Ethical, Regulatory & Societal Challenges

Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU), Raipur, hosted a one-day online International Conference on “Emerging Jurisprudence of Artificial Intelligence (AI): The Socio-Legal Impact” on September 20, 2025.

The conference, a joint effort by HNLU's Centre for Internet Governance and AI, School of Law and Technology and the Centre for Privacy and Data Protection, School of Law and Public Policy, aimed to explore the evolving intersection between AI and law, with a focus on its ethical, regulatory, and societal challenges.

The conference had Mr. Justice S. Muralidhar, Former Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court, as the Chief Guest. In his address, he highlighted that the data is collected and used by the State and private corporations much beyond the mandate, rendering 'Data Privacy' as a myth. He illustrated the example of the Israeli attack on Iran on how data is weaponized stressing the importance of protecting personal data from over-exposure on the web. Addressing in the inaugural session, Prof Vivekanandan, Vice Chancellor of HNLU flagged the serious concerns of 'Regulatory Vacuum' 'Amplification of Inequities' 'Borderless Operations' & 'Rogue Technologies' creating a hallucination of democracy and Justice delivery system.

The Inaugural Session was followed by a Panel Discussion on the theme, “Regulating the Unpredictable: Legal Frameworks for Safe and Ethical AI.” The session featured a panel of experts who shared diverse perspectives. In his opening remarks, Prof. (Dr.) V. C. Vivekanandan, Vice-Chancellor of HNLU, described AI as a "genie out of the bottle" with good, bad, and ugly facets requiring serious efforts to be addressed by the legal regulatory framework to augment the benefits of AI. Mr. Kashyap Kompella, Founder, RPA2AI Research, discussed the lack of international consensus on regulation and introduced his "AIM-AI framework" for AI governance, which is based on the actor's intent and can anticipate future risks. Dr. Rishi Raj Bhardwaj, Assistant Professor at Mahindra University School of Law, highlighted India's slow pace in developing AI regulations and stressed that existing laws like the IT Act are insufficient to address AI's impact on dignity and equality. Dr. (Mrs.) Bhavna Mahadev, Lecturer in Law, University of Technology, Mauritius, explained that while AI offers benefits, its reliance on data raises concerns about social exclusion and discrimination, and she concluded that effective legal frameworks must evolve to address AI-specific issues. Finally, Prof. (Dr.) Hong Xue, Beijing Normal University Law School, spoke on the intersection of AI and Intellectual Property Rights, emphasizing that while AI outputs require to be incentivised, intellectual property should remain tied to the human element of creation to avoid diluting its value.

The conference featured eight parallel Technical Sessions covering a wide range of themes, including "AI in Courtroom Management and E-Justice," "Regulatory Frameworks and Ethical Guidelines," "Liability and Accountability in AI Systems," and "Privacy and Data Protection," among others. The conference received 172 abstracts, from which the best 60 papers were selected for presentation, fostering vibrant deliberations among students, researchers, and academicians.

The Valedictory Ceremony was graced by the Chief Guest, Ms. N.S. Nappinai, Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India. Ms. Nappinai pointed out crucial gaps in India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, specifically its lack of an effective “right to be forgotten” for voluntarily shared data. She stressed that privacy is not about secrecy but about choice, advocating for law to adapt dynamically to protect against crimes in virtual spaces, such as the metaverse.

Earlier addressing the gathering, Prof V.C.Vivekaandan, Vice Chancellor HNLU touched upon the AI impact on legal education and future lawyering analysing if AI serves as a tool or as a puppet master with the danger of churning out 'shallow lawyers'

The Conference was organized by Dr. Atul S. Jaybhaye (Secretary) and Dr. Priyanka Dhar (Co-secretary), faculty of HNLU. Dr. Deepak Srivastava, Registrar in Charge and Dr. Avinash Samal, Dean Social Sciences welcomed the participants and the event was coordinated by student organising committee consisting of Ms. Preeti Talreja, Ms. Aayushka Pandey, Mr. Tanishq Tiwari and others.