Science and Technology Law Commons^™

Taking On The Ethical Obligation Of Technology Competency In The Academy: An Empirical Analysis Of Practice-Based Technology Training Today, Jessica De Perio Wittman

Faculty Articles and Papers

Today's lawyers must be technologically competent, per Model Rule of Professional Conduct 1.1. Law schools and law firms were keenly aware of this expectation and summarily responded. While law firms offered more professional development opportunities, law schools began offering various courses focusing on technology skills. These courses have increased and evolved over time as the curriculum has changed with the technology. First, we present the evolution of ethical requirements surrounding legal technology competency and offer a description of the lawyering competency models most discussed today. We then review data about technology trends at the most innovative law firms and examine …

Floating Liens Over Crypto-In-Commerce, Christopher K. Odinet, Andrea Tosato

Indiana Law Journal

Commercial law and crypto are colliding. Against the backdrop of explosive growth (and discord) in the digital asset market, there has been a series of recent revisions to American commercial law aimed at addressing new and emerging technologies. These changes to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) are designed to facilitate the buying and selling of digital assets as well as their use as collateral. However, to date, the literature exploring these changes has mainly focused on understanding the basics of the new regime. This Essay moves beyond that baseline by showing how the UCC amendments can be used to structure …

Equitable Ecosystem: A Two-Pronged Approach To Equity In Artificial Intelligence, Rangita De Silva De Alwis, Amani Carter, Govind Nagubandi

Michigan Technology Law Review

Lawmakers, technologists, and thought leaders are facing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build equity into the digital infrastructure that will power our lives; we argue for a two-pronged approach to seize that opportunity. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is poised to radically transform our world, but we are already seeing evidence that theoretical concerns about potential bias are now being borne out in the market. To change this trajectory and ensure that development teams are focused explicitly on creating equitable AI, we argue that we need to shift the flow of investment dollars. Venture Capital (VC) firms have an outsized impact in determining …

Regulating The Use Of Military Human Enhancements That Can Cause Side Effects Under The Law Of Armed Conflict: Towards A Method-Based Approach, Yang Liu

American University National Security Law Brief

The development of human enhancement (HE) technology has rendered its military potential increasingly noticed by major military powers. It can be expected that “enhanced warfighters” or “super soldiers” will be used on the battleground in the foreseeable future, which can give rise to many legal issues.

Artificial Intelligence In Government: Risks And Challenges Of Algorithmic Governance In The Administrative State, Jose Vida Fernandez

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

This article analyzes the legal implications of using artificial intelligence in government and how it is challenging the foundations of the administrative state. It begins by demonstrating that a new model of government is emerging, based on information and intelligence (i-Gov). To understand the nature and scope of this new i-Gov model, this article will explain what artificial intelligence really is and analyze the applications that are currently being carried out in the US and the EU. Next, it will review the regulatory framework that is emerging that regulates government use of artificial intelligence in both the US and the …

Introduction: The Risk Of Digitalization: Transforming Government Into A Digital Leviathan, Jose Vida Fernandez

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

This paper provides an overview of the threats posed by digitalization, particularly with regard to the public sector. It starts by describing digital risks as true global risks and argues that their scope and severity have not been recognized until now. The most well-known challenges come from the transformation of the private sector (economy, society, and individuals) and the emergence of large private powers that dominate the digital environment (digital feudal lord). However, there are even greater challenges coming from the digitization of government, creating almighty public bodies detached from laws that kept them locked until now.

Neurorights And New Charts Of Digital Rights: A Dialogue Beyond The Limits Of The Law, Rafael Yuste

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

In this article, the authors address some of the most pressing issues that stem from the relationship between the technological advancements of the twenty-first century and legal regulation. The development of neurotechnology and artificial intelligence (AI), while offering considerable opportunities for the betterment of social life, also poses unprecedented risks. These challenges manifest in a wide variety of topics. Areas such as human rights treaties, antitrust law, property law, and labor law are affected by these developments. The risks associated with the unregulated use of neurotechnology and AI do not cease at the sectorial stage. Some of the values upon …

Trust In Artificial Intelligence: Analysis Of The European Commission Proposal For A Regulation Of Artificial Intelligence, Antonio Estella

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

I shall start by reflecting on the importance that trust has for society (section 2). From there, I will define what is to be understood in this paper by trust (section 3). I shall then review the basis of trust (section 4) and shall make a reference to the main sources of evidence on trust (like, surveys and laboratory experiments), and to some of the results that these sources reveal on interpersonal and institutional trust (section 5). In the next section (section 6), I shall go on to analyse specifically the issue of trust in AI, will refer to the …

The Contentious Issues Of Governance By Algorithms, Gilles J. Gugielmi

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

The development of computerized tools that lead to decision-making processes which apply locally defined parameters poses many questions about democracy. These questions stem from our very conception of the state and its role, going beyond the boundaries of typical administrative law. According to a popular notion that permeates the practices of most executive branches in liberal political regimes, democratic concerns are now competing with managerial concerns. In order to analyze this idea, we must study the implementation of algorithms in administrative decision-making, underscoring both the changes to the characterization of administrative decisions and the questions raised about an administrative judicial …

Blockchain And The Right To Good Administration: Adding Blocks To Or Blocking Of The Globalization Of Good Administration?, Migle Laukyte

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

In this article, the author addresses the complex and multifaceted relationship between the right to good administration enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the uses of blockchain technology by the public administration, which is in charge of making the right to good administration real. The opportunities and threats come hand in hand, and there is an urgent need to push forward a public debate on the uses and misuses of blockchain to guarantee public services, so much so that many aspects of blockchain are not compatible with citizens’ expectations in relation to the public …

The Digital Transformation Of Tax Systems Progress, Pitfalls, And Protection In A Danish Context, Louise Blichfeldt Fjord, Peter K. Schmidt

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

The authors examine possibilities and challenges in using digital tools to obtain tax simplification and to improve tax assessment, collection, and transparency. Hence, the main objectives of the article are, from a legal perspective, to shed additional light on the relations between tax administrations and taxpayers in an increasingly digitalized world and to discuss how this development may influence taxpayers’ rights and the overall efficiency of tax systems. In doing so, practical experiences—incurred in Denmark during its journey from a paper-based and manual tax administration process toward a more digitalized one— are analyzed. Against this background, it is concluded that …

Managing Digital Resale In The Era Of International Exhaustion, Seth Niemi

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

The Copyright Act of 1970 and Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament both guarantee copyright holders’ exclusive rights of reproduction and distribution of their copyrighted material. Starting from a similar statutory basis, United States and European Union courts have diverged in their interpretation of these protections with respect to the first sale rule for digital goods. This paper analyzes the treatment of such “digital exhaustion” arguments under copyright law between the two legal systems from both the statutory interpretations employed and the policy rationales considered. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of adoption of digital exhaustion, within international law, …

Government By Algorithms At The Light Of Freedom Of Information Regimes: A Case-By-Case Approach On Adm Systems Within Public Education Sector, María Estrella Gutierrez

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

What the Houston Court qualified as “mysterious ‘black box’ impervious to challenge” was in practice a sophisticated software of many layers of calculations, which rated teachers’ effectiveness to make employment decisions. In the European Union, a system as such would fall under the Proposal for AI Regulation of 2021, which qualifies AI models in education and vocational training as “high-risk” systems. Automated decision-making systems (ADM systems), AI-driven or not, are being increasingly used by governments in public education for different purposes, such as handling applications for undergraduate admission or profiling students and teachers to assess their performance. Across cases and …

Winning The Imitation Game: Setting Safety Expectations For Automated Vehicles, William H. Widen, Philip Koopman

Articles

This article suggests that legislatures amend existing law to create a new legal category of "computer driver" to allow a plaintiff to make a negligence claim against an automated vehicle manufacturer for loss proximately caused by any negligent driving behavior exhibited by the driving automation systems which it produced. Creating this new legal category will allow a status quo approach to attribution and allocation of liability, including permitting defendants to take advantage of contributory negligence and comparative fault rules. Creation of the category also allows for continued functioning of the structure of our existing liability laws and regulations for motor …

Supervision Of Artificial Intelligence In The Eu And The Protection Of Privacy, Johanna Chamberlain, Jane Reichel

FIU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ai Regulation In Health Care: How Washington State Can Conquer The New Territory Of Ai Regulation, Natalie Shen

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

1. The use of artificial intelligence both generally and in the health care field has exploded over the last decade. AI is now used in the health care field in areas like disease diagnostics, patient engagement, and administrative tasks. In disease diagnostics specifically, AI is being used to make life-altering diagnoses. This technology, however, does not come without its risks. Specifically, inherent bias is deeply rooted in the AI algorithms. This is because humans are inherently bias, and humans are the people creating the AI algorithms. The problem is, however, is that there are no federal regulations to mitigate the risks …

Artificial Intelligence And Ethics, Carol M. Bast

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This paper focuses on the impact that artificial intelligence has had on the practice of law and ethics rules. In some respects, the ethics rules, comments, and continuing legal education requirements incorporate knowledge of technology into the duty of attorney competence. After offering a primer on artificial intelligence and attorney ethics, the paper discusses certain proposals for revising the ethics rules, comments, and continuing legal education requirements.

Universal Forms Of Influence: Support For Women On Boards, Cindy A. Schipani, Paula J. Caproni

Seattle University Law Review

There are various efforts underway to increase gender diversity on corporate boards, including legislation in California, a recent SEC approved comply or explain rule for companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, and efforts by institutional investors such as State Street and BlackRock to recognize the value diversity brings to corporate decisionmaking. Although some of these efforts are being contested in the courts, many companies have begun to comply with these initiatives.

This Article is organized as follows. Part I provides an overview of several efforts to increase gender diversity on boards along with numerous research studies showcasing the benefits …

“Statistics Are Human Beings With The Tears Wiped Away”: Utilizing Data To Develop Strategies To Reduce The Number Of Native Americans Who Go Missing, Lori Mcpherson, Sarah Blazucki

Seattle University Law Review

On New Year’s Eve night, 2019, sixteen-year-old Selena Shelley Faye Not Afraid attended a party in Billings, Montana, about fifty miles west of her home in Hardin, Montana, near the Crow Reservation. A junior at the local high school, she was active in her community. The party carried over until the next day, and she caught a ride back toward home with friends in a van the following afternoon. When the van stopped at an interstate rest stop, Selena got out but never made it back to the van. The friends reported her missing to the police and indicated they …

Trust The Science But Do Your Research: A Comment On The Unfortunate Revival Of The Progressive Case For The Administrative State, Mark Tushnet

Indiana Law Journal

This Article offers a critique of one Progressive argument for the administrative state, that it would base policies on what disinterested scientific inquiries showed would best advance the public good and flexibly respond to rapidly changing technological, economic, and social conditions. The critique draws on recent scholarship in the field of Science and Technology Studies, which argues that what counts as a scientific fact is the product of complex social, political, and other processes. The critique is deployed in an analysis of the responses of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Food and Drug Administration to some important aspects …