General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6304 / JDOC6304 |
| Course name: | AI and Competition Law |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme / JD Programme |
| Semester: | First |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Credit point value: | 9 credit / 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
Large Language Models, like ChatGPT, are a recent demonstration of the abilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is a rapidly developing field that challenges many areas of the law. Competition law is no exception.
As more and more firms employ AI to set prices, rebates, and manage sales more generally, new challenges emerge. For instance, AI algorithms might be used to automatically adjust prices in response to competitor actions. The more sophisticated AI becomes, the more complex the challenges for competition law. These challenges can arise across all traditional areas of competition law, including anticompetitive collusion, unilateral behaviour, and merger control, as AI increasingly influences market dynamics.
The course will be divided into four parts. The first part will explore the current state of AI and its usage and potential usage in markets. The second part will examine the theory and feasibility of AI-facilitated collusion, as explored by scholars like Ezrachi and Stucke, along with potential antitrust responses. The third part will delve into an emerging area of research: how AI pricing and market actions affect the assessment of unilateral conduct, with a focus on AI-based predatory pricing and other exclusionary behaviour. Finally, the fourth part will explore how these insights and broader structural questions can inform competition policy in the area of mergers.
While the course will include some lectures, the main mode of instructions will be seminars. These seminars will also feature student presentations on specific cases or issues, as well as discussions to help students prepare their final research papers.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Julian Nowag | jnowag@hku.hk | CCT 411 | By email |
1.4 Course Outline (for elective course)
| Please click the link here for the course outline (HKU Portal login required). |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Have a thorough grasp of major concepts and debates about the interplay between technology and the law, with a particular focus on online platforms;
CLO 2 Be able to think creatively about the normative challenges raised by online platforms and make this knowledge productive for policy analysis and design;
CLO 3 Develop a critical and comparative appreciation of the ways in which different jurisdictions tackle the governance of online platforms in different respects.
CLO 4 Be familiar with a number of substantive topics that will be relevant for further research in this field.
2.2 LLM and JD Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link:
LLM – https://course.law.hku.hk/llm-plo/
JD – https://course.law.hku.hk/jd-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| In-class participation | 20% | 3 | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Case / paper presentation | 30% | 5, 3 | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Research paper | 50% | 1 | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
To be advised by course convenor(s). See also Course Outline above.
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Seminar: | 3 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unit is 25 ± 5 hours (ie. 150 ± 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
4.2 Details of Learning Activities
To be advised by course convenor(s).
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | TBA |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/