Law and AI: What can we trust? Freshman’s essay triumphs in legal competition

AI-generated deepfakes are becoming nearly impossible to detect. How big a challenge do they pose to the law? A student from the UWB Faculty of Law explored this issue in her professional paper, which recently captivated the jury of a prestigious legal competition.

Kateřina Sedláčková is only in her first year at the Faculty of Law of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, yet her paper on law and trust in reality impressed the jury of the "Show Your Creativity" legal competition so much that they awarded her first place. In her professional article, Sedláčková focused on deepfake technology and content manipulation. Deepfakes (AI-generated fake videos, images, or audio) credibly mimic real people. While used for entertainment, they are often employed to spread disinformation or damage reputations. We met with Kateřina Sedláčková at the end of April, following the awards ceremony at the Právní prostor 2026 congress gala. For INFO.zcu, she described what motivated her to write the article and her stance on the issue.

Right at the beginning of your winning article, you challenge the notion that "seeing is believing." When did you realize that this no longer holds today? And was that what drew you to the topic?

That feeling developed gradually as deepfake technology evolved and its outputs became increasingly convincing. In that context, I realized that everything I see might not necessarily be real and that an image does not equal reality. So yes, that was one of the reasons why I chose this topic.

You write that deepfakes are not just about manipulating images, but also about manipulating trust. In your opinion, what is the bigger problem, the technology itself or how people perceive its products?

I consider the way people perceive content to be the bigger issue. I believe the main problem isn't the technology as such, but rather the audience's uncritical perception. Technology itself can be used positively, for example, in cinematography. Regarding artificial intelligence, the well-known proverb "a good servant, but a bad master" is doubly true.

In the article, you mentioned that current laws are not sufficient to address deepfakes. In what way?

Current legislation mostly addresses the consequences rather than the essence of the problem. New technologies bring new situations that aren't always clearly covered, for example, the liability for creating digital content.

You also mention the boundaries of freedom of speech. What should be clearly "over the line"?

In my opinion, the intentional creation and dissemination of deepfake content that infringes upon others' rights, whether their dignity, privacy, or reputation, should be over the line. Freedom of expression, a fundamental value of our state, should not be used as a tool for manipulation or to harm others.

The article moves between law and philosophy. Was that intentional?

Yes, it was. When it comes to AI, I don't think it's enough only to address the legal level, what is permitted or forbidden. Regarding AI, we should also address deeper questions, such as what is moral, which values we want to protect, and how technology changes our perception of reality. Philosophy opens up these questions and addresses them in a broader context. That is why I consider the connection between these two fields to be important.

You are in your first year and have already written an award-winning paper. How would you encourage other students to be active right from the start?

Well, probably just not to be afraid to start and take advantage of the opportunities that come your way. Moreover, the first year is exactly when you have the space to try new things and make quick progress.