The American Arbitration Association (AAA) has launched an AI Ambassador Program bringing together 37 attorneys from leading law firms to examine how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping disputes and dispute resolution. The group will develop practical resources for users, counsel, arbitrators, mediators, and other professionals, with an initial focus on AI-based evidence and arbitration procedure, AI-related disputes, automated transactions, digital assets, and algorithmic finance. The initiative reflects a growing reality: AI is changing not only the types of matters entering arbitration, but also the evidence, procedures, and decision-making tools used to resolve them.

The program builds on the AAA’s broader work in AI, including its support for the Legal Context Protocol (LCP), an open standard designed to create a reliable legal record for transactions conducted by autonomous software agents. As agents increasingly purchase services, commit funds, and accept terms without contemporaneous human review, traditional contracting records may be incomplete or inconsistent. LCP addresses that evidentiary gap by generating a cryptographic fingerprint of the governing terms and binding it to the related payment. The protocol does not dictate contractual terms or determine whether an agreement is enforceable. Instead, it makes the terms discoverable before a transaction and verifiable afterward, while allowing the parties to identify governing law and a preferred dispute-resolution process.

Taken together, the Ambassador Program and LCP point to the next phase of AI governance: building legal infrastructure alongside technical and payment infrastructure. Organizations exploring agentic commerce should consider how their systems identify applicable terms, document an agent’s authority, preserve transaction records, and account for disputes, audits, and regulatory inquiries. At machine speed and scale, a dependable record of who acted and what was agreed is not simply good recordkeeping, it is foundational to trust and enforceability.

Photo of Kathryn Rattigan Kathryn Rattigan

Kathryn Rattigan is a member of the Business Litigation Group and the Data Privacy+ Cybersecurity Team. She concentrates her practice on privacy and security compliance under both state and federal regulations and advising clients on website and mobile app privacy and security…

Kathryn Rattigan is a member of the Business Litigation Group and the Data Privacy+ Cybersecurity Team. She concentrates her practice on privacy and security compliance under both state and federal regulations and advising clients on website and mobile app privacy and security compliance. Kathryn helps clients review, revise and implement necessary policies and procedures under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). She also provides clients with the information needed to effectively and efficiently handle potential and confirmed data breaches while providing insight into federal regulations and requirements for notification and an assessment under state breach notification laws. Prior to joining the firm, Kathryn was an associate at Nixon Peabody. She earned her J.D., cum laude, from Roger Williams University School of Law and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Stonehill College. She is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Read her full rc.com bio here.