Internet Technologies and Regulation

About

The pace of technological change and innovation in the use of Internet technologies, Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI and other emergent technologies pose significant challenges for policy-makers across a variety of issues, whilst regulation and policy will, in turn, shape the range of choices that can be made about the use, design and development of these technologies. Informed academic study of these technologies must be firmly grounded in a sophisticated understanding of the underlying technology and policy contexts in which these tools are embedded. In particular, valuable insights will be gained by studying legal, policy, and social debates on tech governance with a focus on EU and US trends.

Key themes

• • How far should policy-makers and regulators intervene when new technologies radically transform existing business models and social structures?
  • In which ways has the Internet, Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI and other emergent technologies transformed the nature of policy and regulation to govern innovation?
  • How are debates about free speech, data protection and equality being reshaped by Internet technologies and Artificial Intelligence?
  • To what extent do legal and regulatory issues need to be re-thought in view of the fact that new technologies often cross national boundaries?
  • How far can regulation shape the design and development of Internet technologies and Artificial Intelligence?
  • What can previous disruptive technologies such as the Gutenberg press and telegraph -and the policy debates that surrounded them – tell us about the impact of new tech?

Course Objectives

This course will expose students to basic legal papers, public policy documents and reports as well as more traditional social science texts. In order to reinforce students’ appreciation of the importance of adopting a technologically-informed approach to studying the Internet and other technologies, the course will cover several key EU and US policy debates such as content moderation, human rights protection and big tech governance, in each case identifying the extent to which the range of policy options is narrowed or expanded by fast-moving technological innovation, and shifts in public policy and regulation. This will enable students to appreciate the broader implications and relevance of academic study in this field.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will:

• have a good understanding of the Internet,  Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI and other emergent technologies and will appreciate how innovation and laws have shaped (and in turn been shaped by) them;
• have a basic understanding of how technologies impact equality, free speech, privacy and other human rights.
• have a sophisticated understanding of key tech governance and policy debates within Europe and the US
• be able to critically assess public policy proposals, point out their weak points and develop ideas for improvement