AI, Policy and Law

Catalog description

Artificial intelligence (AI) presents many complex issues for society, as technological developments have greatly outpaced public policy. Moreover, the open and commercialized nature of AI tools provides criminals and other adversarial actors with new advantages yet to be effectively countered. This class looks at the legal and policy frameworks and practices needed to build an ecosystem of privacy, security, and trust that will help ensure stakeholders that AI is being developed and deployed in an ethical, safe, and reliable manner. The class will also discuss how organizations are designing their own practices for operationalizing trustworthy or ethical AI in various sectors including law enforcement and criminal justice, commercial sectors, medical and biological research, among others. Students will be given a foundation in the emerging laws, regulations, and policies regarding AI, as well as insight on the broader process of how laws and policies need to adapt for other rapidly emerging technologies. We will explore in detail several approaches currently being considered, including regulatory approaches, standards, and considerations for national and international security. The course also will explore certain other legal issues arising in connection with AI, such antitrust and competition law, intellectual property and proprietary rights matters, and concerns for future technologies (quantum computing, AI and synthetic biology, etc.).