Introduction

5.1 In 2018, we published a series of contributions by eminent colleagues on the subject of new technologies and their impact on arbitration1. Since then, our profession has undergone much faster changes than we could reasonably foresee. In the wake of serious climate emergencies, there has been a growing awareness of environmental issues related to the conduct of arbitral proceedings such as the issue as to whether it is sustainable to promote in-person meetings even though there are more environmentally friendly alternatives in the form of virtual meetings.2 As from January 2020, moreover, the COVID-19 emergency has been transforming our working lives, leading to a spectacular acceleration of the digitisation process and a proliferation of virtual hearings.3 Against this background, the issue if and how artificial intelligence (‘AI’) might be used to assist or even replace arbitrators received less attention. From a broader perspective, commentators even speak about the advent of a new ‘AI winter’, mimicking the period from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s, when earlier excitement about the potential to build human-level intelligence had gone lost.4