Course info

 Overview and Structure:

This course aims at analyzing the emergence of AI regulation in the law, examining the core principles, legal provisions and political strategies involved in the processes that is currently shaping the European development and governance of AI systems.

The course will be divided in two parts:

1. Part one will be entirely dedicated to a detailed examination of the domestic and supranational sources of the law enacted and still under discussion in the European sand comparative scenario.

Reference is chiefly made to the 2024 European Union’s Regulation on AI through the so-called “AI Act”, but it won’t be limited to the European Union.

Additionally, it will cover the Council of Europe’s latest draft proposal of the first worldwide treaty on AI, Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law Framework Convention, without leaving behind the initiatives undertaken at the domestic level by the Italian legal system first without excluding the most relevant strategies offered by the comparative dimension.

Part one will likewise build on the most prominent soft law documents, that paved the way to the EU’s regulation such as UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of AI.

 2. Part two will feature a critical investigation of the core principles of AI regulations: Human dignity and individual autonomy; Transparency; Explainability (Right to Know); Human oversight; Accountability and responsibility; Equality and non-discrimination; Reliability; Trustworthiness; Safety.

Eventually, the course aims at challenging students to debate over the reliable, safety and human-centered use of AI systems by examining case studies, hinging on issues of human rights.