No prerequisites required
- To get familiar with the major technological changes that are affecting society and the legal profession.
- To understand the key approaches, themes, challenges and limitations to govern emerging technologies through prospective legislation and regulation.
- To learn the role, strengths and weaknesses of liability as a legal tool for governing emerging technologies.
- To appreciate how technology is transforming the practice of law.
Science and Technology especially emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology, genomics, neuroscience and blockchain technology are advancing at an unprecedented rate.
Law is affected by these emerging technologies in two primary ways.
First, the law is called upon to help society govern technology and its potential impacts both ex-ante (regulation) and ex-post (liability). Second, the practice of law itself is being affected and altered by technology in unprecedented ways.
This course will provide an overview of both aspects of this growing intersection between law and technology.
The course will be taught through face-to-face lectures. The teaching approach will promote critical thinking and will encourage classroom dialogue and discussion.
Special attention will be given to examples and illustration on specific aspects on emerging technologies law.
The teaching programme includes seminars delivered by visiting professors.
The students' assessment is based on a final written exam (2 hrs long), consisting of two open questions aimed to assess students’ ability to illustrate the solutions currently adopted to deal with emerging digital technologies at EU level in relation to the policy goals
pursued. The exam will also include a short scenario case, aimed to assess students’ ability to apply the
current framework to possible cases raised by emerging digital technologies.
Assessment is proportional to the correctness and completeness of the answers to the proposed problems and questions, according to the following criteria:
- relevance;
- correctness of language;
- exhaustiveness;
- clarity.