Tim Duncan

Timothy Duncan

Director of the AI Program

Lecturer

BA, University of Wisconsin-Madison
JD, Washington University in St. Louis School of Law


Biography

Duncan is the Director of the AI Program and a Lecturer in Law at Boston University School of Law. He teaches and writes at the intersection of law, technology, and regulation, with a focus on artificial intelligence, digital money & Property, and financial regulation.

He has served as Head of Technology at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and has also held leadership and advisory roles across academia, government, and industry. Duncan is a nationally recognized expert on the legal and ethical dimensions of AI and has been a frequent speaker on the future of legal education, digital property, and the regulation of emerging technologies.

At BU Law, Duncan leads the development of the AI Program, which provides students and faculty with the curriculum, training, and tools necessary to use AI skillfully and responsibly.

In the Media

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  • The Daily Free Press January 27, 2026

    BU Law School to launch AI certificate program in fall 2026 as part of new initiative

    Timothy Duncan and Stephen Marks are quoted.
    read more

  • BU Today January 15, 2026

    New AI Program Keeps BU School of Law Students on the Cutting Edge

    Angela Onwuachi-Willig and Timothy Duncan are quoted.
    read more

  • View All Articles

Activities & Engagements

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Courses

LAW JD 794

Artificial Intelligence Law

3 credits

As AI (artificial intelligence) systems take over more of the human decision-making process in business, medicine, government, and in people’s personal lives, we face the task of applying and updating existing law, policy, and norms from a time before the proliferation of AI. This course provides an introduction and preparation for practice for students who will be launching their legal careers as AI grows increasingly important in law and lawyering. In this course, you will: • Analyze AI's Legal Impact: Investigate important new cases in foundational law areas (contracts, torts, property) where AI is involved, looking for novel legal issues and common threads. • Consider Broader Consequences: Evaluate the economic, environmental, and social effects of AI, including how current biases might transfer to AI-driven processes. • Track AI Governance: Explore emerging AI laws and regulations and develop tools for analyzing ongoing policy developments in this space. • Learn the Basics: Master fundamental AI concepts and terminology sufficiently to discuss AI confidently with attorneys and potential clients – no science or tech background necessary. • Understand the Enduring Role of Lawyers: Understand that while AI will reshape many aspects of law, it will underscore, rather than eliminate, the need for the critical thinking and advocacy skills of good attorneys. Given the subject of the course, the use of generative AI tools is encouraged. This can include getting summaries of optional readings and exploring and researching writing assignments. The only caveat is that you must adhere to BU Law’s policy on plagiarism and the use of AI. We will discuss in class the value and drawbacks of using these tools in conjunction with your own critical thinking, expertise, and analytic skills. Note: As a relatively new course at BU Law addressing a rapidly evolving field, participants should anticipate a dynamic learning environment that requires flexibility and adaptability – skills crucial for navigating the broader digital transformations ahead. Final exam and multiple written assignments. UPPERCLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: Students may partially satisfy the requirement with a 3,000 word research paper.


SPRG 2026: LAW JD 794 A1, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Tue,Thu 9:00 am 10:25 am 3 Timothy Duncan LAW 209
LAW JD 728

Digital Money and Property

3 credits

What we earn, owe and own will soon be represented only by bits in a computer, but we are only beginning to understand the benefits, risks and legal pitfalls associated with this change. While crypto currencies have dominated the news, they are only part of the larger global conversion to digital money and property representations that is underway. In Norway, over 95% of consumer transactions are now made with digital fiat money, California is working on converting its entire car title system from paper to digital and virtually all central banks are working on introducing national digital currencies. The impact of digitization will cut across property law, banking and finance, secured transactions, consumer rights, bankruptcy and many other areas of law - all of which this seminar will explore. The relationship between money, the reach of government and the impact on societal wealth and inequalities will also be considered over the course of the semester - as well as the potential for government to limit privacy and control behaviors using digital money and payment systems. The goal of this seminar will be to explore and understand current issues, but more importantly, to equip students with a framework to understand and apply the law to evolving and new forms of money and digital property throughout their careers. Over the course of the semester, we will review and study various laws that govern money, property rights and debt with a focus on recent changes to the Uniform Commercial relating to digital assets and currency including Article 12 on Controllable Electronic Records. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: A limited number of students may use this class to satisfy the requirement.


FALL 2025: LAW JD 728 A1, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Thu 4:20 pm 6:20 pm 3 Timothy Duncan LAW 418
CAS CS 995

Directed Study: Computer Science

Var credits

Graduate-level directed study in a topic in computer science.


FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 A1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Athanassoulis
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 A2, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Appavoo
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 B1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Bun
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 C2, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Chien
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 D1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Das
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 E1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Ene
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 G1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Gaboardi
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 G2, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Ghadiyaram
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 G3, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Gong
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 K1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var VariaTimothy Duncan
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 K2, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Kim
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 K3, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Kolachalama
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 L1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Liagouris
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 L2, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Levin
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 M1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Mancuso
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 N1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Neuman
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 O1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Mueller
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 O2, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Onak
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 P1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Plummer
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 P2, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Pacchiano Camacho
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 R1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Raskhodnikova
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 S1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Saenko
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 S2, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var SMITH
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 S3, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Saligrama
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 W1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Wijaya
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 W2, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Wood
FALL 2025: CAS CS 995 X1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Lincoln
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 A1, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Athanassoulis
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 A2, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Appavoo
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 B1, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Bun
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 C2, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Chien
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 D1, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Das
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 E1, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Ene
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 G1, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Gaboardi
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 G2, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Ghadiyaram
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 G3, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Gong
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 K1, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Papadakis-Kanaris
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 K2, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Kim
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 K3, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Kolachalama
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 L1, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Liagouris
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 L2, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Lincoln
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 M1, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Mancuso
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 O1, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Orabona
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 O2, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Onak
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 P1, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Plummer
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 R1, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Raskhodnikova
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 S1, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Saenko
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 S2, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var SMITH
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 S3, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Saligrama
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 W1, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Wijaya
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 W2, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Wood
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 X1, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Pacchiano Camacho
SPRG 2026: CAS CS 995 X2, Jan 20th to Apr 30th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Kontothanassis