Society for Business Ethics

Opening Plenary: Leibniz’s Dream: How to Automate Legal Reasoning Responsibly

Plenary Session Speaker

Scott Shapiro

Scott J. Shapiro is the Charles F. Southmayd Professor of Law, Professor of Philosophy, and Professor of Computer Science at Yale University. His scholarship spans the philosophy of law, international and criminal law, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. Shapiro is the author of “Legality” (2011); “The Internationalists” (2017, with Oona Hathaway); and “Fancy Bear Goes Phishing” (2023). He also co-edited “The Oxford Handbook of Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law” (2002, with Jules Coleman). Shapiro holds a B.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from Columbia University and a J.D. from Yale Law School. He serves as co-editor of “Legal Theory” and the “Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,” and his commentary has appeared in outlets such as The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Guardian, International Affairs and Foreign Affairs. Shapiro founded the Yale Documentary Project, which provides legal counsel to independent filmmakers, and co-founded the Yale Legal AI Lab, focused on the automation of legal reasoning. From 2024 to 2025, he was Special Assistant for AI Ethics to the Chief AI Officer at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Abstract: In the 17th century, the philosopher, mathematician, and lawyer Gottfried Leibniz envisioned the creation of a characteristica universalis and calculus ratiocinator that would enable reasoning in law and morals as systematically as in geometry and analysis. His goal was to resolve legal disputes with the precision and clarity with which accountants settle financial discrepancies. “To take pen in hand, sit down at the abacus and, having called in a friend if they want, say to each other: Let us calculate!”

We are now, for the first time in history, positioned to realize Leibniz’s dream of automating legal reasoning. The challenge, however, is not merely to automate legal reasoning, but to automate it responsibly. Doing so requires aligning sophisticated computational techniques with the kinds of legal problems they are capable of addressing reliably, while recognizing the limits of those techniques where they are not. Automating code-based legal reasoning, which relies on explicit statutes and regulations, differs fundamentally from automating case-based reasoning, which depends on precedents, analogies, and interpretation. I will argue that the key to responsible legal AI lies in matching methods to legal tasks. By combining formal methods with Large Language Models (LLMs), we can begin to realize aspects of Leibniz’s centuries-old vision while preserving the accuracy, transparency, and accountability that legal reasoning demands.

Keynote: Moral Behavior and the True Self

Keynote Speaker

Joshua Knobe

Joshua Knobe is a professor at Yale University, appointed both in the Program in Cognitive Science and in the Department of Philosophy. Most of his work is in the field of experimental philosophy. Knobe’s work uses experimental methods to explore people’s ordinary concepts, including the concepts of intention, causation, knowledge, consciousness and the true self. Much of his work is concerned with the ways in which people’s use of concepts that might appear to be entirely descriptive can actually be influenced by their moral judgments.

Abstract: When people observe others, they typically see a mixture of good and bad behavior. What do people make of this? One traditional answer is that people tend to think that good behavior is a product of situational factors, while bad behavior reflects something about the person herself. I will be discussing a series of studies that provide evidence for an effect that goes, as it were, in the opposite direction. These studies look at judgments about whether a behavior reflects the agent’s true self vs. some other more superficial aspect of the self. For these judgments, we find that people judge that good behavior reflects the agent’s true self, while bad behavior does not.

Support the 2026 SBE Annual Meeting in Philadelphia

From Miguel Alzola, SBE President:

As we look ahead to our 2026 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia (July 29–August 1), I am excited to share an opportunity to support our SBE’s mission in a meaningful way.

Many of you know that the Society for Business Ethics does not accept corporate sponsorship. This policy reflects our commitment to independence and integrity, but it also means we rely on academic centers, non-profit organizations, and individuals to help make our conferences as inclusive and impactful as possible.

Your sponsorship directly supports scholars from underrepresented regions who otherwise could not attend, provides travel assistance for doctoral students and early-career researchers, sustains our Doctoral Students’ Program (which offers mentorship, waived registration, and a dedicated dinner), and helps us bring distinguished keynote speakers to the conference.

If you or your institution can contribute, or if you know of foundations or academic centers that might be interested, please reach out to me at alzola@fordham.edu. Sponsors receive recognition on our website, social media, and in the printed conference program.

I hope you will consider how you might help us build a more global and inclusive scholarly community. Every contribution makes a difference.

Miguel Alzola
SBE President