Legal theory

Must-reads for understanding the field and why it matters for AGI institutions.

1. The Agentic Web Requires New Normative Infrastructure
   Cameron Pattison, Matthew Boulos, Noam Kolt et al.2026 · Preprint

   Makes the case for laws, norms, and practices that distinguish appropriately delegated agents from malicious automation on the web.

2. What Is Law? A Coordination Model of the Characteristics of Legal Order
   Gillian K. Hadfield, Barry R. Weingast2012 · Journal of Legal Analysis · Peer-reviewed

   Models legal order as a coordination device: a public, stable, impartial set of rules lets decentralized actors agree on what counts as a violation and coordinate to punish it.

Recent work in the field worth knowing.

1. A Busier Government, Not a Better One
   James Broughel2026 · Pax Machina · Essay
2. Legal Alignment for Safe and Ethical AI
   Noam Kolt, Nicholas Caputo, Jack Boeglin et al.2026 · TMLR · Peer-reviewed
3. Legal Infrastructure for Transformative AI Governance
   Gillian Hadfield2026 · PNAS · Peer-reviewed
4. Alignment as Jurisprudence
   Nicholas Caputo2025 · Yale Journal of Law and Technology · Peer-reviewed
5. European Union regulations on algorithmic decision-making and a "right to explanation"
   Bryce Goodman, Seth Flaxman2016 · AI Magazine · Peer-reviewed
6. Microfoundations of the Rule of Law
   Gillian K. Hadfield, Barry R. Weingast2014 · Annual Review of Political Science · Peer-reviewed
7. The Politics of Precedent in International Law: A Social Network Application
   Krzysztof J. Pelc2014 · American Political Science Review · Peer-reviewed

Older work that gives background on the field.

1. The Forms and Limits of Adjudication
   Lon Fuller1978 · Harvard Law Review
2. The Morality of Law
   Lon Fuller1964 · Book
3. The Concept of Law
   H.L.A. Hart1961 · Book
4. The Path of the Law
   Oliver Wendell Holmes1897 · Harvard Law Review