Issues

Liability Rules for Autonomous Vehicles: How Traditional Legal Relations Encourage Modern Technological Innovation

As autonomous vehicles (AVs) come into use, lawyers will guide courts’ choice of liability rules, the sanctions that apply when the rules of the road are broken. The best rule for many accidents involving AVs will be strict liability.

Competing in the Age of AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) enables the rapid growth of a new type of firm. Many traditional firms now compete directly with AI-based firms. Business strategies and competitive processes are changing.

Informing the Design of a Personalized Privacy Assistant for the Internet of Things

Personalized Privacy Assistant (PPAs) will help users manage Internet of Things (IoT) device data collection. The best PPAs will learn from users and offer suggestions from unbiased sources.

Using Data and Respecting Users

Firms should make ethical choices in using data to avoid souring relationships with users. Three basic guidelines reduce risk and help maintain user trust.

The Automated Administrative State: A Crisis of Legitimacy

Federal and state agencies increasingly use automation and software to carry out their responsibilities, resulting in a loss of due process and accountability. However, some agencies use technology effectively.

Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Bias in Finance: Toward Responsible Innovation

Financial technology firms (fintech) using big data and machine learning have revived old debates regarding regulation of the financial services industry. State consumer protection laws should apply to these firms to protect consumers from predatory lending practices.

Afrofuturism, Critical Race Theory, and Policing in the Year 2044

In the future, more than half of the population of the United States will be people of color. Afrofuturists foresee a world in which egalitarian policies and technology reduce crime and bias in criminal justice.

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Rules, Standards, and Judicial Discretion

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems will be used by lawmakers and judges to refine and apply the law. Over time, flexible standards will tend to be displaced by precise rules.

Generalizability: Machine Learning and Humans-in-the-Loop

Machine learned-based software increasingly plays a role in key decision-making systems. The software is “trained” using large datasets; designing effective, fair systems that make accurate predictions when applied to new data is challenging.

You Might Be a Robot

Policymakers show increasing interest in regulating robots. However, a "robot" can be hard to define. The increasing pace of innovation makes it hard to apply the plain language of laws to new cases.