Alexandra Bensamoun: shaping the future of digital law in the age of artificial intelligence

After a course at Sciences Po Paris, Alexandra Bensamoun joined Université Paris-Sud (now Université Paris-Saclay) in 1994 to study law. On completion of a 2nd year Master’s degree specialising in intellectual property and digital law, she wrote a thesis on the dialogue between legislators and judges in copyright law, exploring the evolution of the protection of works in a technological environment.

Research as a driving force: intellectual property and AI

In 2007, Alexandra Bensamoun was recruited as a lecturer at Université Paris-Sud and joined the Centre for Study and Research in Intellectual Property Law (CERDI). The centre is recognised for its expertise in issues relating to intellectual property law, data protection law, criminal law relating to emerging technologies and art market law. Alexandra Bensamoun developed her initial research into the protection of works faced with the increasing digitisation of content.

From 2013 until 2016, she managed the laboratory and expanded the team. "Following on from my predecessors, I supported an active hiring policy and we welcomed a new generation of researchers funded by PhD projects and contracts."

At the same time, she was involved in developing the DATAIA Institute, the artificial intelligence (AI) institute of Université Paris-Saclay. She has been a member of the institute's executive committee since its creation. "By working closely with specialists in the hard sciences, I discovered fascinating interdisciplinary approaches, which greatly enhanced my legal analyses of AI."

Her book, Droit de l'intelligence artificielle (Artificial Intelligence Law), co-authored with Professor Grégoire Loiseau and first published in 2019, offers one of the first comprehensive French-language summaries of the legal aspects of AI. "I believe in the power of collective intelligence: while individual research fuels our thinking, scientific dialogue inevitably enriches it."

Committed to serving the public interest

In addition to her scientific work, Alexandra Bensamoun plays an important role in university and national governance. Elected to the Research Commission and the Restricted Academic Council of Université Paris-Sud in 2013, she promotes the creation of highly-specialised programmes in digital law. She also sits on the board of the Jean Monnet Faculty (Law - Economics - Management) of Université Paris-Saclay and actively contributes to the scientific policy of the constituent faculties and institutes.

Alexandra Bensamoun's skills have resulted in her providing direct guidance to the French Ministry of Culture. "I have been honoured to be selected as a qualified person of the Higher Council for Literary and Artistic Property." Reappointed in 2018, she writes reports influencing legislative developments in France and Europe. The most recent report, submitted in December 2024 at the request of the Minister of Culture Rachida Dati, was on the implementation of the European AI Regulation. In 2023, Former Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne assigned Alexandra Bensamoun to an interministerial commission on AI where she contributed to the report AI: our ambition for France, delivered to the President of the Republic in March 2024. She advocates a balanced approach: "Well-designed legislation boosts confidence and creativity, while preventing abuses such as social scoring or AI-driven risk assessment of reoffending with their proven discriminatory bias. It does not make sense to oppose innovation and regulation. I advocate for a reasoned and reasonable approach to AI, which offers immense economic and societal opportunities, provided we build a competitive market based on our European values."

Internationally, she is also a UNESCO expert on the diversity of cultural expressions in the digital environment.

Impart and innovate: a commitment to education

Education is another pillar of Alexandra Bensamoun's career. After defending her Accreditation to Supervise Research in 2010, she became a Professor at the University of Rennes in 2016, where she created a work-study programme on digital law. "I set up a research orientation dedicated to digital regulation. I also led the academic team to teach lawyers capable of anticipating technological change." In 2021, she returned to the Université Paris-Saclay orbit, this time through Université Évry Paris-Saclay. She contributed to the Master's track in Intellectual Property, Digital and Space Law, within which she created a 2nd year Master’s degree/Master of Laws (LL.M)  in partnership with the Autonomous University of Madrid and Université Laval in Quebec. "In the first term, all the students meet as a cohort at the Jean Monnet Faculty in Sceaux, then leave to study in Quebec or Spain in the second term. They finish the programme with two qualifications, a French 2nd year Master's degree and an international LL.M. degree."

Her work, which alternates between scientific, public-interest and educational responsibilities, is based on a single conviction: "University is the seat of all innovation. Together, we develop our knowledge, impart it to the next generations and encourage the emergence of new ideas. It's an immeasurable opportunity."

Momentum towards the future and recognition

Although already committed to a number of assignments, between 2024 and 2025 Alexandra Bensamoun is taking a one-year course for senior civil servants at the Institut National du Service Public (INSP, National Institute of Public Service, formerly ENA). This course is designed to develop her skills in management, collective intelligence and decision-making, with the aim of strengthening her political and managerial expertise in the face of contemporary challenges. Her expertise is sought after in both the political and private sectors.

However, she remains committed to teaching and research: "As a university professor, I enjoy an incomparable freedom of research and action. I want to preserve this intellectual freedom, which is a valuable asset for continuing to advise on, write or build regulatory systems."

In 2025, this dual commitment received official recognition: the French Minister of Culture made her a Chevalière in the Ordre National des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) and personally presented her with the medal at a ceremony at the Rue de Valois, recognising her significant role in the evolution of intellectual property and digital law. "I was deeply touched by this honour. My grandfather would have been proud and my thoughts are with him at this stage of my career."