In cities around the country, the relationship between police and community is fraught with tension — sometimes the direct result of violent incidents, sometimes the reverberations of problems elsewhere. And almost always, talk of police reform is in the air.

But rather than enact changes after the fact, argues , the Jacob D. Fuchsberg professor of law and director of the Policing Project at New York University, why not start by transforming accountability?

Friedman will headline a ����Ӱ�Ӵ�ý Law School event, “How We Police in America: A Case for Reform” at 7:30 p.m. May 4 at Kane Hall.

The event is open to the public.

The author of “Unwarranted: Policing Without Permission,” Friedman believes the notion of accountability, when it comes to police departments, is misunderstood. The public should be involved on the front end, he says, to try to lessen the disproportionate impact of policing practices on racial and ethnic minorities. His Democratic Policing seminar at NYU explores, for example, different structures for governing police that allow for greater community input into department operations.

Reforming the way police departments operate can take many forms, Friedman said. In communities throughout the United States, the Policing Project is testing models of community input into policing, from a formal advisory council to neighborhood programs.

“It requires a department interested in working with the community,” he said.

The May 4 event also features a panel discussion with , UW assistant professor of law; Sue Rahr, executive director of the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission and a former King County sheriff; and Ian Larsen, legal counsel to Seattle Mayor Ed Murray.

Tickets are $5, available ; a limited number will be available at the door.

Recognizing that, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is co-hosting four public workshops on artificial intelligence — the first of them May 24 at the ����Ӱ�Ӵ�ý. Subsequent events will take place in ; in ; and in .

Put on by the and the UW , the will focus on legal and policy issues around artificial intelligence, or AI.

Speakers include:

• , law school dean and president of the Association of American Law Schools
• , special assistant to the president for economic and technology policy
• , White House deputy U.S. chief technology officer
• , a UW assistant professor of law and co-director of the Tech Policy Lab
• , a UW professor of computer science and engineering and author of “”
• , chief executive officer of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence and a UW professor of computer science and engineering
• , an associate professor in the School of Information at UC Berkeley and co-director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology
• , a principal researcher at Microsoft Research New York City and senior researcher at NYU Information Law Institute
• , a law professor at Yale Law School
• Camille Fischer, policy advisor, National Economic Council
• Terah Lyons, policy advisor, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

Etzioni will provide an overview on the current state of artificial intelligence, followed by two panel discussions. The first will examine issues around making decisions in the private or public sector using artificial intelligence.

The second panel will focus on logistical aspects of AI applications, such as when the government might reasonably feel comfortable turning mail delivery over to robots or how safe autonomous flight must be to be used for deliveries.

The aim of the workshops is to look at the advantages and drawbacks of artificial intelligence. As a White House points out, President Obama’s and the will both rely on AI to identify patterns in medical data and help doctors diagnose diseases and determine treatment plans. But others worry the technology will displace human workers, or go so far as to that it could pose a threat to the human race.

The UW workshop, free and open to the public, will be held from 1:30 to 5 p.m. May 24 in the Magnuson Jackson Courtroom 138 at the UW School of Law. A reception follows from 5 to 7 p.m. Registration is available , and the conference will be .

The next in the series, about artificial intelligence for social good, is June 7 in Washington, D.C., followed by a June 28 on safety and control for AI at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and a July 7 in New York City on the social and economic implications of AI.

For more information, contact Ryan Calo at rcalo@uw.edu or 206-543-1580.

, dean of the ����Ӱ�Ӵ�ý’s law school, will give her inaugural address as president of the Association of American Law Schools tomorrow night in Washington, D.C.

Testy previously served on the ‘s executive committee and was voted in as its president in October 2014. She takes over from 2015 president Blake Morant, dean of The George Washington University Law School.

“It is an incredible honor for me to be elected president of AALS, and I look forward to spending this next year working with my colleagues in the legal profession to do all we can to re-energize legal teaching, research and service, and inspire a new generation of students to dedicate their lives to law,” Testy said.

Testy has been involved with the association for several years, serving a three-year term on its committee to recruit and retain minority law teachers and students, on planning committees for conferences and workshops and as co-chair of the association’s group for law school deans. She has also been active in the Society of American Law Teachers, serving on its board of governors and several committees.

Testy was named dean of the UW law school in 2009. She received her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University at Bloomington and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Indiana Law School, where she was the editor of the Indiana Law Journal. She started her legal career working at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago while in law school, and after graduation she clerked for Judge Jesse E. Eschbach, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Testy has published extensively on topics ranging from social justice to corporate law and has won numerous awards, including the Seattle 2012 Women of Influence Award, the Washington State Trial Lawyers Public Justice Award and president’s awards from the Washington State Bar Association, Washington Women Lawyers and King County Women Lawyers.

The will be well-represented this year in the AALS, a national nonprofit organization made up of 179 law schools. The incoming chair of the association’s clinical group and incoming co-chairs of the AALS Journal of Legal Education are UW law faculty members, as is the chair of the AALS’ intellectual property group. A UW law faculty member also sits on the executive committee of the association’s group focused on securities regulation.

Testy said she chose the theme of “why law matters” for her term as AALS president, with the goal of helping society understand the importance of the law in promoting wellbeing.

“In our beautiful and broken world, law may not be the only pathway to justice, but I believe it remains the most promising one in our grasp,” she said.

The ����Ӱ�Ӵ�ý , supported by a number of leading Puget Sound-area businesses and law firms, has announced the creation of the to help bring greater diversity to the school and the legal profession.

The gap between diversity in the legal profession and that of the United States population has widened in recent years, according to the 2013 Microsoft-commissioned . The Gregoire Fellows Program, which starts this spring, was designed to address that gap — to develop a pipeline of diverse law students and support them throughout their education.

“If we are to realize our goal of leadership for the global common good and of creating a legal profession as diverse as our society’s makeup, we need to encourage more under-represented students to enter the legal profession,” said , dean of the School of Law and Dean and Judge James W. Mifflin University Professor. “This innovative partnership will help us better reach students who are currently pursuing other paths. Moreover, by enhancing diversity in our classrooms we will enhance our academic excellence for all students.”

Nine fellows chosen for their potential to increase diversity in the legal world will be named as part of the school’s entering class this fall. They will receive paid summer internships with participating law firms and departments after the first year of study, and financial assistance with bar exam preparation at the end of their studies. The fellows also will have opportunities to participate in a mentorship program by , former Washington state governor.

“In Washington, diversity is a community value, and it gives our state a base of strength and knowledge on which to build our future,” Gregoire said. “We know that most law school graduates remain in the state to practice after graduation. The fellows program offers the potential to increase diversity in both the legal profession and the judiciary to better represent our growing and diverse population in Washington.”

The UW School of Law is ranked in the top 10 among public law schools nationally and has a longstanding commitment to diversity and equality, yet faces many of the same challenges as law firms do in recruitment and retention. With this program, the school hopes to increase diversity in the legal profession by closing a large gap between the number of under-represented students admitted to the school and the number of those who ultimately enroll.

King County has grown increasingly more diverse in recent years, with 30 percent of residents identifying themselves as African-American, Asian, Hispanic or mixed ethnicity in the most recent census. However, the Washington State Bar Association reported that all minorities represented only 12 percent of its membership in 2012.

“Diversity needs to be one of the core values of the legal profession, and it needs to become even more central than it is today,” said Brad Smith, general counsel and executive vice president of legal and corporate affairs for Microsoft, one of the program’s initial sponsors. “I believe we each have an important role to play in advancing diversity, and we are thrilled that so many Seattle-based legal entities have come together to create the Gregoire Fellows Program to increase diversity in the legal profession in King County and Washington state.”

Corporations confirmed as providing initial support in the 2015-16 school year include Amazon.com Inc., Starbucks Corp., Microsoft Corp., Nintendo of American Inc., Seattle Genetics Inc., Vulcan Inc. and Weyerhaeuser Co. Law firms confirmed for initial support are

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP; Foster Pepper PLLC; K&L Gates LLP; Lane Powell PC; Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP; Perkins Coie LLP; and Stoel Rives LLP. Program organizers say participation by other firms and companies is welcomed.

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Members of the press wishing more information may contact the Rapid Response Team at Waggener Edstrom Communications for Microsoft at 503-443-7070 or rrt@waggeneredstrom.com; Michelle Lancaster of Microsoft at 425-705-3324 or milanca@microsoft.com; or School of Law Dean Kellye Testy at 206-543-2586 or lawdean@uw.edu.