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 917

Advanced Legal Reasoning with Artificial Intelligence

3 credits

The next generation of lawyers will practice co-intelligence—a dynamic partnership between human judgment and artificial intelligence in which their combined output exceeds what either could achieve alone. Taught by the Director of the BU Law AI Program, this seminar will teach you to work with generative AI as an active collaborator that can deepen your creativity, sharpen your reasoning, and expand your judgment on complex legal problems. Throughout the term, you will develop disciplined and reproducible methods for AI-enhanced legal work: decomposing novel problems into analyzable components, stress-testing arguments, running counterfactual and scenario analyses, and using AI to expose gaps or weaknesses that traditional workflows might overlook. You’ll gain a working understanding of large language models—their mechanisms, pattern-recognition strengths, and characteristic failure modes of hallucination, bias, and overconfidence—so you can exercise professional judgment about when AI output deserves acceptance, refinement, or rejection. Between class sessions, you’ll experiment with AI across legal use cases that demand creative and strategic thinking, then bring those explorations back to the seminar for collaborative critique. Together, students will compare approaches, analyze results, and co-build a shared playbook for high-level, AI-augmented lawyering. The course culminates in a “Before and After AI” capstone paper applying the cognitive partnership model to a hypothetical problem in litigation, regulatory advocacy, or transactional practice. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: Students may partially satisfy the requirement with a 3,000-word research paper. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.


FALL 2026: LAW JD 917 A1, Aug 31st to Dec 3rd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Thu 8:30 am 10:30 am 3 Timothy Duncan
LAW JD 794

Artificial Intelligence Law

3 credits

Artificial intelligence is reshaping society, legal institutions, and the practice of law. This course examines the emerging law, regulation, and policy of AI while preparing students to work effectively with the technologies that are already transforming legal practice. Students will study how existing legal doctrines apply to AI systems and how those doctrines may evolve as AI increasingly influences decision-making in business, government, medicine, consumer markets, and everyday life. Topics include liability, privacy, intellectual property, consumer protection, fairness, bias and discrimination, explainability, and AI governance. The course is also a practical introduction to AI-assisted lawyering. Students will develop a working understanding of the concepts and terminology needed to engage confidently with contemporary AI systems and large language models; no technical background is required. Through concrete legal use cases, students will explore how legal AI tools and LLMs can enhance analysis, problem-solving, and professional judgment, while also confronting their limitations and risks, including hallucinations, bias, opacity, overreliance, and professional responsibility concerns. Use of generative AI is integral to the course. The course is grounded in the view that the next generation of lawyers will practice co-intelligence: a disciplined partnership between human judgment and artificial intelligence in which the combined output exceeds what either could achieve alone.


SPRG 2027: LAW JD 794 A1, Jan 11th to Apr 21st 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Tue,Thu 9:00 am 10:25 am 3 Timothy Duncan
CAS CS 995

Directed Study: Computer Science

Var credits

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


FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 A1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Athanassoulis
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 A2, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Appavoo
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 B1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Bun
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 C2, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Chien
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 D1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Das
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 E1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Ene
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 G1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Gaboardi
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 G2, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Ghadiyaram
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 G3, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Gong
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 K1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var VariaTimothy Duncan
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 K2, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Kim
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 K3, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Kolachalama
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 L1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Liagouris
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 L2, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Klein
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 M1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Mancuso
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 N1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Neuman
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 O1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Mueller
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 O2, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Onak
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 P1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Plummer
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 P2, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Pacchiano Camacho
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 R1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Raskhodnikova
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 S1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Saenko
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 S2, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var SMITH
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 S3, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Saligrama
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 W1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Wijaya
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 W2, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Wood
FALL 2026: CAS CS 995 X1, Sep 2nd to Dec 10th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Lincoln
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 A1, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Athanassoulis
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 A2, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Appavoo
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 B1, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Bun
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 C2, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Chien
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 D1, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Das
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 E1, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Ene
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 G1, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Gaboardi
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 G2, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Ghadiyaram
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 G3, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Gong
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 K1, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Papadakis-Kanaris
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 K2, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Kim
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 K3, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Kolachalama
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 L1, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Liagouris
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 L2, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Lincoln
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 M1, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Mancuso
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 O1, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Mueller
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 O2, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Onak
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 P1, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Plummer
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 R1, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Raskhodnikova
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 S1, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Saenko
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 S2, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var SMITH
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 S3, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Saligrama
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 W1, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Wijaya
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 W2, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Wood
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 X1, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Pacchiano Camacho
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 X2, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Kontothanassis
SPRG 2027: CAS CS 995 X3, Jan 19th to Apr 29th 2027
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
ARR 12:00 am 12:00 am Var Neuman