Harry Surden

Professor of Law

401 UCB
2450 Kittredge Loop Drive
Wolf Law Building
Boulder, CO  80309
Office: 427
Phone: (303) 492-7840
E-mail: hsurden@colorado.edu

Curriculum Vitae:  View (PDF format)

Personal Link:

http://harrysurden.com/

Bio:
Harry Surden is a Professor of Law at the University of Colorado Law School, where his research focuses on the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and law. Recognized as a leading scholar in this field, Prof. Surden is known for originating the concept of "computable contracts" and for his widely-cited articles on topics such as AI Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, AI ethics and loyalty, computable law, machine learning and law, autonomous systems, as well as related work on patent law, copyright law, and information privacy law.

Professor Surden is also the Associate Director of Stanford University's CodeX Center for Legal Informatics, and the Faculty Director of CU's Silicon Flatirons Center's AI Initiative. He brings an interdisciplinary perspective, with a background in both computer science and law. Prior to academia, he worked as a professional software engineer at both Cisco Systems and Bloomberg L.P.

Professor Surden is a graduate of Stanford Law School and Cornell University, both with honors. He also clerked for the Hon. Martin J. Jenkins of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Before joining CU Law, Professor Surden was a resident fellow at Stanford's CodeX center, where he collaborated with the School of Engineering on research exploring the application of computing to improve the legal system. He also led CodeX's Computer Science and Law Initiative and was involved with the Stanford IP Litigation Clearinghouse.

At the University of Colorado, Professor Surden has received numerous awards including the Provost's Scholarship Award and the Goldstein Fellowship. Professor Surden teaches courses on intellectual property law, artificial intelligence and law, patent law, tort law, and on professional judgment, problem solving, and decision-making.

Selected Publications

Naïve Realism, Cognitive Bias, and the Benefits and Risks of AI, Yale Journal on Regulation Online, Notice and Comment (Spring 2023).
Values Embedded in Legal Artificial Intelligence, IEEE Technology and Society, peer-reviewed (Spring 2022).
Surden (with Anthony Aguirre, Peter Bart Reiner, & Gaia Dempsey), AI Loyalty and Governance in The Oxford Handbook on Artificial Intelligence Governance, Oxford University Press (2022).
Machine Learning and Law: An Overview, in Research Handbook on Big Data Law (Roland Vogl, ed.) (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021).
Surden (with Anthony Aguirre, Gaia Dempsey, and Peter Bart Reiner), AI Loyalty: A New Paradigm for Aligning Stakeholder Interests, IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society (2020).
The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Law: Basic Questions, Oxford Handbook of Ethics of AI (2020).
Artificial Intelligence and Law: An Overview, 35 Georgia State University Law Review (2019).
What to Teach Law Students About Artificial Intelligence and Law?, (Bridges II) Northwestern Law Review Online (2017).
Technological Opacity, Predictability, and Self-Driving Cars, 38 Cardozo Law Review 121 (2016).
Machine Learning and Law, 89 Washington Law Review 87 (2014).
Technological Cost as Law in Intellectual Property, 27 Harvard Journal of Law and Technology 135 (2013).
Computable Contracts, 46 U.C. Davis Law Review 629 (2012).
Efficient Uncertainty in Patent Interpretation, 68 Wash & Lee L. Rev 1737 (2011).
The Variable Determinacy Thesis, 12 Columbia Science and Technology Law Review 1 (2010-2011).
Structural Rights in Privacy, 60 SMU Law Rev. 1605 (2007).
Surden (with Michael Genesereth & Bret Logue), Representational Complexity in Law, Proc. 11th Int'l Conf. on Artificial Intelligence & L. 193 (2007).

Selected Press, Media & Publicity

What Solo and Small Firms Should Know About Artificial Intelligence | State Bar of Wisconsin Inside Track | Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Surden & Williams on Self-Driving Cars & Predictability | Legal Theory Blog | Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Deep Blue Sky Thinking: The Cutting Edge of Legal AI | Legal Business | Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Deep Blue Sky Thinking: The Cutting Edge of Legal AI | Legal Business [UK] | Wednesday, November 4, 2015
"Video: Professor Surden at Stanford on Self-Driving Cars, Predictability, and Law" | Stanford Law School | Friday, October 30, 2015
"Create outrage and challenge authority with just a few clicks" | New Scientist | Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Recent Visualization Projects Involving US Law and The Supreme Court | LLRX.com | Friday, May 22, 2015
Predicting the Supreme Court Using Artificial Intelligence | Concurring Opinions blog | Thursday, October 23, 2014
Surden to Speak on 'Machine Learning Within Law' at Stanford, Oct. 9, 2014 | Legal Informatics Blog | Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Law by algorithm: Are computers fairer than humans? | NewScientist | Thursday, June 12, 2014
Professor Surden Talk on Computable Contracts | Reinvent Law NYC Conference 2014 | Wednesday, January 1, 2014
NSA Data Fight Could Signal Privacy War | U.S. News | Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Professor Surden on Privacy in U.S. News and World Report | U.S. News and World Report | Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Prof. Surden on Translating Law into Computer-Understandable Form and Autonomous Cars | Stanford Law School | Monday, April 8, 2013
Prof. Surden on Technology Eroding Privacy Protections | Salon.com | Friday, November 16, 2012
Why We Need New Rights to Privacy | Slate | Friday, November 2, 2012
Professor Surden's Interview on This Week in Law | This Week in Law | Friday, November 11, 2011
Professor Surden's lecture at Stanford Law School on "Computable Contracts" | Stanford Law School | Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Professor Surden's article "The Variable Determinacy Thesis" highlighted on Professor Lawrence Solum's Legal Theory Blog | Legal Theory Blog | Thursday, March 31, 2011
There's more to protecting your privacy online than turning off your Spokeo profile | NPR Marketplace | Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Courses:

Spring 2025 Seminar: Computers and the Law LAWS 8321-801
Fall 2024 Torts LAWS 5425-802
Fall 2024 Introduction to Intellectual Property Law LAWS 6301-801
Spring 2024 Seminar: Computers and the Law LAWS 8321-801
Fall 2023 Torts LAWS 5425-802
Fall 2023 Introduction to Intellectual Property Law LAWS 6301-801
Spring 2023 Introduction to Intellectual Property Law LAWS 6301-801
Fall 2021 Torts LAWS 5425-801
Fall 2021 Introduction to Intellectual Property Law LAWS 6301-801
Spring 2021 Patent Law LAWS 7311-801
Fall 2020 Torts LAWS 5425-802
Fall 2020 Introduction to Intellectual Property Law LAWS 6301-801
Spring 2020 Problem Solving, Professional Judgment, and Decision Making LAWS 6813-801
Spring 2020 Patent Law LAWS 7311-801
Fall 2019 Introduction to Intellectual Property Law LAWS 6301-801
Spring 2019 Patent Law LAWS 7311-801
Spring 2019 Patent Law LAWS 7311-902
Spring 2019 Seminar: Computers and the Law LAWS 8321-801
Spring 2019 Seminar: Computers and the Law LAWS 8321-902
Fall 2018 Torts LAWS 5425-803
Fall 2017 Torts LAWS 5425-803
Fall 2017 Patent Law LAWS 7311-001
Spring 2017 Introduction to Intellectual Property Law LAWS 6301-001
Fall 2016 Torts LAWS 5425-804
Fall 2016 Patent Law LAWS 7311-001
Spring 2016 Introduction to Intellectual Property Law LAWS 6301-001
Spring 2016 Seminar: Computers and the Law LAWS 8321-001
Fall 2014 Introduction to Intellectual Property Law LAWS 6301-001
Fall 2014 Patent Law LAWS 7311-001
Spring 2014 Problem Solving, Professional Judgment, and Decision Making LAWS 6813-001
Spring 2014 Patent Law LAWS 7311-001
Spring 2014 Journal: Colorado Technology Law Journal LAWS 7936-901
Spring 2014 Journal: Colorado Technology Law Journal LAWS 7936-902
Spring 2014 Journal: Colorado Technology Law Journal LAWS 7946-901
Spring 2014 LL.M Thesis LAWS 9856-903
Fall 2013 Torts LAWS 5425-801
Fall 2013 Journal: Colorado Technology Law Journal LAWS 7936-901
Fall 2013 Journal: Colorado Technology Law Journal LAWS 7936-902
Fall 2013 Journal: Colorado Technology Law Journal LAWS 7946-901
Spring 2013 Patent Law LAWS 7311-001
Fall 2012 Torts LAWS 5425-801
Fall 2012 Introduction to Intellectual Property Law LAWS 6301-001