The aim of this course is to give students an appreciation of issues involved in administering legislative rules and to teach students ways of preventing these issues during the legislative drafting phase. The course specifically explores how technology can be used throughout the legislative lifecycle.

Students will be introduced to a methodology and technologies which emphasise the importance of precise and structured legal expression and offer many options to analyse and represent the structure of complex legal material.

Throughout the course, students will be required to learn and apply new technology to the problems at hand.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. identify, with reference to a given legislative instrument, the drafting office responsible, the drafting style used and critically evaluate the appropriateness of that drafting style to the subject matter of the instrument.
2. Identify and analyse the different types of provisions found in the Australian legislation and the purpose and context in which the provisions are used.
3. explain and analyse the role technology can play in drafting, evaluating draft legislation and administering legislation, including limitations of various approaches.
4. Create a simple legislative rulebase to automate a select piece of legislation.
5. Select and apply a range of approaches to written and oral communication, and apply the critical thinking required to bring about solutions concerning the ways in which technology could support legislative drafting and administration in the future.
6. Undertake a research project, with intellectual independence.

Required Resources

A reading guide will be made available through the course Wattle site.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals, focus group etc

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Other Information

Extensions late submission and penalties - https://law.anu.edu.au/current-students/policies-procedures/extensions-late-submission-and-penalties

Deferred examination: http://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/assessments-exams/deferred-examinations

Special consideration: http://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/assessments-exams/special-assessment-consideration

Penalties for excess word length: https://law.anu.edu.au/current-students/policies-procedures/word-length-and-excess-word-penalties

Distribution of Grades Policy: Effective from Winter Session and Second Semester 2018 (and until further notice), the interim scaling guideline applies to all courses in the LLB (Hons) and JD programs. Please see: https://law.anu.edu.au/current-students/policies-procedures/grading

Further Information about the Course: is available from the course WATTLE page. Students are required to access the WATTLE site regularly throughout the course for details on weekly classes and any announcements relating to the course.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Overview and Administration. The Evolution of Artificial Intelligence
2	Applied Artificial Intelligence: Autonomous Capabilities
3	Applied Artificial Intelligence: Machine Learning
4	Applied Artificial Intelligence: Deep Learning
5	Creating a Rulebase (Expert System): Introduction and Basic Rules
6	Creating a Rulebase: Basic Rules (continued)
7	Creating a Rulebase: Calculations
8	Creating a Rulebase: Calculations (continued)
9	Creating a Rulebase: Advanced Features
10	Creating a Rulebase: Testing
11	Assistance with completion of Rulebase Projects
12	Assistance with completion of Rulebase Projects

Tutorial Registration

No tutorial registration available, required, or expected. Please refer to ANU Timetabling for the schedule.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Quiz	0 %	14/09/2022	14/09/2022	2,3,4
Research Essay	50 %	05/09/2022	26/09/2022	2,3,5,6
Rulebase (Expert System)	50 %	03/11/2022	*	2,3,4,5

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Integrity . In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

For all courses taught in any mode (whether face to face or online), the ANU College of Law considers participation in the classes offered to be an important part of the educational experience of the program. Students are expected to attend all classes.

Assessment Task 1

Quiz

Details of Task: A short quiz covering the main areas of AI and law/ethics discussed in Week 1-6 lectures and tutorials.

Nature of Task: Optional

Weighting: 0%

Release: 1pm, 7 September 2022. Students are able to attempt the quiz multiple times in the period of which the Quiz is open.

Due date: 1pm, 14 September 2022. Due to the nature of the task, late submission or extension is not permitted.

Estimated return date: Upon completion of the quiz.

Assessment Criteria: The mark for the quiz will be based on the number of correct responses.

Assessment Task 2

Research Essay

Details of Task: Students will write a research essay on a topic in the area of applied Artificial Intelligence.

Nature of Task: Compulsory and non-redeemable. Failure to submit this assessment will result in a mark of zero for this assessment task.

Weighting: 50%

Release: Suggested topics will be released on WATTLE by the end of the first class.

Word limit: 2,000 words. The ANU College of Law's Word Length and Excess Word penalties policy can be found at https://law.anu.edu.au/word-length-and-excess-word-penalties. 

Due date: 5pm, 5 September 2022. Late submissions (without an extension) are permitted, but late penalties will apply. 

Estimated return date: 26 September 2022

Assessment Criteria:

• Understanding and discussion of relevant material.
• Critical evaluation of doctrine.
• Critical evaluation of material.
• Creative and originality of approach.
• Structure including logical development of content/material.
• Research of primary legal (case law and legislation) and scholarly secondary sources.

Assessment Task 3

Rulebase (Expert System)

Details of Task: Students will be assessed on their ability to use the provided software to produce a working system accurately modelling a select piece of policy. Accompanying this, students will supply a written report describing the work they have done and the overall operation of the model created. Each student must agree to the area for their rulebase with the course convenor via email by the end of Week 1.

Nature of Task: Compulsory and non-redeemable. Failure to submit this assessment will result in a mark of zero for this assessment task.

Weighting: 50%

Release: You may start work on this at any point, although it is best to wait until the practical training part of the course has started.

Word limit: 2,500 words. The ANU College of Law's Word Length and Excess Word penalties policy can be found at https://law.anu.edu.au/word-length-and-excess-word-penalties. 

Due date: 5pm, 3 November 2022. Late submissions (without an extension) are permitted, but late penalties will apply. 

Estimated return date: Official end-of-semester results release date

Assessment Criteria:

• Accuracy - faithfulness to the source material.
• Rule construction - ease of reading and understanding.
• Interview flow.
• Calculations and other advanced features.
• Testing.
• [Report] Description of the work.
• [Report] Overall operation of the model created.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically, committing to honest and responsible scholarly practice and upholding these values with respect and fairness.

The ANU commits to assisting all members of our community to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle and Academic Misconduct Rule, uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with.

The Academic Misconduct Rule is in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Very minor breaches of the academic integrity principle may result in a reduction of marks of up to 10% of the total marks available for the assessment. The ANU offers a number of online and in person services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. Visit the Academic Skills website for more information about academic integrity, your responsibilities and for assistance with your assignments, writing skills and study.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may or may not allow for late submission. Policy regarding late submission is detailed below:

• Late submission not permitted. If submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date is not permitted, a mark of 0 will be awarded.
• Late submission permitted. Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item.
• Late submission is not accepted for tests or examinations.
• Late submission with an extension. To ensure equity for all students, the 5% penalty per working day for late submission of work does not apply if you have been given an extension. Where an extension is granted, the revised due date and submission time is provided in writing. Please note that the revised due date is calculated by including weekends and public holidays. Regardless of which day of the week the revised due date falls on, students who submit after that date are penalised by 5% of the possible marks available for the assessment task per day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students