Several projects are already aiming to entrust part of the legislative work to artificial intelligence (AI). While for the time being, these are mainly tools for transcribing parliamentary debates, translating or analyzing archives, drafting tools or legislative texts are also being considered. The use of AI may seem interesting: it can improve readability or facilitate standardization. But, depending on how it is used, it may not spontaneously respect the fundamental principles of the legislative process, such as legality, proportionality or equality. These requirements, established by the Constitutional Court, are the subject of numerous case law decisions. As part of a doctoral thesis, Aline Nardi, is sifting through them to see whether the use of AI is possible in legislative processes.

His finding? "For csome more critical tasks, which go beyond simple editing, problems arise." In particular, she points to the opacity of the reasoning, since "it is difficult to trace why the AI suggests such and such a lead from the query submitted to it". Yet, in a state governed by the rule of law, the legislative process must be transparent and comprehensible if it is to be challenged by parliamentarians and citizens.

There are also issues of democratic legitimacy: "The company that develops the system used by parliamentary assemblies can influence decisions that are extremely important for a nation. Is a parliamentarian still useful if he or she is only there to ratify decisions made by a machine?" asks the jurist.

On the citizens' side, AI has been transforming election campaigns for some years now. Micro-targeting, automated disinformation, manipulation of emotions via social networks: these are all formidable tools that can skew public debate. The 2016 US presidential campaign clearly illustrates this problem."Cambridge Analytica, for example, targeted and influenced undecided voters whose positions could be tilted in Donald Trump's favor. Around 20 million undecided voters thus received tailored messages, such as memes, videos, blog posts in favor of Trump", recalls Aline Nardi. Combined with social networks, AI therefore calls into question the right of voters to form an opinion based on pluralist and reliable information.

More recently, the Romanian Constitutional Court invalidated the 2024 presidential election on the grounds of misuse of AI and lack of transparency in digital campaigns. "This affected the freely expressed nature of the citizens' vote and in particular their right to be properly informed, explains Aline Nardi.

The European Union is trying to take action against these abuses. Several regulations have been put in place. They aim to frame digital technologies and limit their harmful effects on the information space, particularly during electoral processes. These regulations include the Digital Services Act (DSA), the AI Regulation and the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising Regulation (TTPA). These regulations have prompted Google, and more recently Meta, to stop allowing political, electoral and social issue advertising in the European Union.

"However, questions remain as to the applicability, concrete implementation and effectiveness of certain standards stemming from bodies of digital law", alerts Aline Nardi, who calls for "sortir de ce flou juridique".

Democracy is by no means a fixed concept. It is the subject of debate, especially today. Louis Carré, Director of the Department of Philosophy and member of the Espace philosophique de Namur (Institut ESPHIN), proposes a three-dimensional definition: a political regime, a state of law and a way of forming society.

"Etymologically, democracy is a political regime that consists in giving power to the people," he reminds us. "Our Western democracies today are based on the idea that the people are sovereign, without governing directly. From this arises a tension between ideal democracy and real democracy."Vincent Jacquet, professor in the Department of Social, Political and Communication Sciences and president of the Transitions Institute supports the point: "Democracy is an ideal of citizen self-government, but it is in tension with more centralizing, authoritarian logics. [...] Our political systems are crisscrossed by these different tensions, with both authoritarian logics increasingly present, including in our own country, and logics of participation that are sometimes accompanied by a great deal of hope and disappointment too."

The second pillar according to Louis Carré: the rule of law. Democracy guarantees the fundamental rights of all citizens through the constitution. But here again, beware of paradoxes: "One could indeed imagine laws passed by a majority of representatives or by a referendum, but which contravene fundamental rights" the philosopher stresses. Democracy cannot therefore be summed up by the majority principle alone.

Finally, democracy is also a way of forming society. It is based on real pluralism: diversity of opinions, beliefs and values. "This presupposes the existence of a relatively autonomous public space in the face of the power in place, which at times challenges the decisions taken by the governments that have been elected,"insists Louis Carré.

In this context, what is the university's responsibility? Louis Carré begins by reminding us of a simple fact: a large proportion of our elected representatives have passed through university benches. But its teaching mission doesn't stop there. "It's about training enlightened citizens, not just rulers. Universities must offer quality higher education, open to as many people as possible", he asserts.

"Democracy does indeed presuppose citizens capable of debating, reflecting, problematizing issues", adds Sephora Boucenna, Dean of the Faculty of Education and Training Sciences and member of UNamur's Institut de Recherches en Didactiques et Éducation (IRDENA). It's all about training reflective minds, capable of questioning their times.

Universities also train those who, tomorrow, will educate future generations: teachers. And here again, democracy is at stake.

In addition to teaching, universities also have a research and social service mission. It produces knowledge that can enlighten public policy, but also question it. This critical function presupposes real independence from politics. "To analyze democratic mechanisms with lucidity, including those that governments put in place, the university must retain its freedom of research and speech," insists Vincent Jacquet.

This critical function of the university presupposes strong independence. In Belgium, however, university funding is largely a matter for the political authorities. "Celane must not mean being placed under tutelage", warns Louis Carré. "Conducting critical research that doesn't satisfy short-term sponsors requires independence, including in terms of resources. We need a large number of researchers who can analyze different types of dynamics. The more we cut research funding, as is the case today, the fewer researchers we'll have and therefore the less capacity for independent analysis and diversity of perspectives, insists Vincent Jacquet.

The "Université en colère" movement, recently launched within the universities of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, intends to denounce the effects of definancement. Its representatives are calling for "guarantee the conditions for the development of an open, independent, quality university accessible to the greatest number. Faced with the social, economic and political challenges of our time, and because other choices for society, and therefore budgets, are possible, it is more essential than ever to strengthen the institutions and players at the heart of knowledge production."

Democracy is therefore not limited to elections or institutions. It is based on collective vigilance, carried by citizens, knowledge... and the places where this knowledge is built. In this respect, universities are an essential link in the chain of democratic vitality. Provided it remains independent, accessible and open to society.

"Democracy is not just a matter of institutions. It's about citizens who bring it to life and organize themselves to assert their perspectives at different times", insists Vincent Jacquet. A clear invitation not to remain a spectator, but to participate, with lucidity and exigency, in the construction of a common democratic future.

It's in the nature of law to work in the long term. But when the very object of that law is inherently shifting and constantly evolving, it's sometimes hard to keep up.

"Technology is evolving very rapidly, and that's why all the courses taught during this Specialized Master's Degree in Digital Law are linked to the research we carry out here at CRIDS (see box), clarifies Élise Degrave, Professor of Law and Director of the Master's Degree. All the professors give courses linked to their research themes, and these evolve according to the results we obtain and share with the students."

Lasting one year, and accessible to holders of a first Master's degree by application, this specialist Master's program covers a wide range of subjects: commerce, communications, privacy, intellectual property, international governance, information, artificial intelligence...

"The Master's program is dense, with a very up-to-date range of courses, which really gives us a 360° vision of our future professions, believes Emma Belot, a recent graduate who has already been hired by a law firm. It shows as soon as we enter the world of work, and particularly in the technical field. You can't call yourself a specialist in new technology law without understanding the technology you're talking about. And the latter accounts for a large part of our training, in conjunction with the Faculty of Computer Science."

In addition to theoretical courses, students can also count on a pedagogy whose innovative character was emphasized by Rectrice Annick Castiaux. "In addition to the work-immersion internship, students take part in the Namur Legal Lab, which provides legal advice to start-ups, as well as a seminar that trains them in teamwork, she declared.

These are issues of which those in charge of the Master's program are fully aware, as they are committed to training jurists who are very attentive to the safeguards necessary for the functioning of a liberal and democratic society.

Minister Vanessa Matz, meanwhile, stressed the importance for Belgium and Europe of training experts capable of responding to these pressing issues. "Controlling the exploitation of personal data, protecting copyright in the face of the use of generative artificial intelligence, or regulating platforms and GAFAMs are not theoretical questions, she considers. They require a delicate balance between progress and ethics, and it will be up to the new Master's graduates to respond by writing the future rules of the game."

The creation of a site for selling goods online or a social network, the development of AI-based IT tools, the provision of a self-help platform between students or an application for exchanging information between a healthcare professional and his or her patient, and so on. What these different types of project have in common, of course, is that they are innovative and exciting, but they also raise legal issues that are not so obvious to the project leaders and yet so exciting to our students, who are only too happy to lend their support!

E-commerce law, intellectual property law, AI and data regulations, etc., are all areas in which our students can offer their help.

By seeking advice from Namur Legal Lab students, start-ups have the opportunity to protect themselves against the violation of certain regulations applicable to their business sector and integrate various legal approaches and constraints into their business model as early as possible.

For Master's students, the Namur Legal Lab represents real educational and professional added value. They find themselves on the front line with players in economic life whom they will have to advise and guide to help them bring their project to fruition. They will have to make the link between the theory they have acquired during their training and the realities on the ground. In other words... to be able to take the plunge... but not without a safety net, since they will still be supervised by the Master's teaching staff.

To be in with a chance of being selected, interested start-ups must submit their applications as soon as possible, and before September 15, 2025, via the online form.

Contact: camille.bourguignon@unamur.be