Beyond Law and Technology: Socio-legal approaches to the digital era
Course in the Module "New Issues in Socio-Legal Studies" (3 ECTS)
Our lives - individually and collectively - are undoubtedly imbricated with complex socio-technical systems. We wake up with our mobile phones, we communicate, fall in love and find our way around through internet applications. We work online and conduct all kinds of business digitally. In fact, you are probably reading this from an internet-connected device. In other words, it is anachronistic to distinguish between the material and the digital, because both dimensions make up what we perceive as reality. This whole set of everyday behaviours takes place in closed digital ecosystems, techno-legal architectures with a code of rules predefined by the large corporations that own these platforms. Companies such as Facebook, Google or Amazon have not hesitated to circumvent legality in order to guarantee their market dominance and impose their own vision of the world. And that is not all. A wide variety of socio-technical systems permeate virtually every facet of governance: artificial intelligence in defence and security in exchange for dubious companies implicated in war crimes, (privatised) digital platforms in education, algorithmic tools to monitor subalterns in unemployment systems, predictive policing models that only confirm entrenched prejudices, deeply racist automated biometric checks at borders, and so on. What about the material base on which all these new infrastructures of everyday life depend? The internet, the cloud, the digital, the very connection through which you access information in this course has an environmental and social impact. It depends on a huge logistical chain, from the mining required to extract minerals such as lithium, to the production of energy and water required to maintain data centres.
Despite established or recent regulatory developments such as the GDPR, the DMA-DSA or the recent AI ACT, or new regulations and policies related to the 'green and digital' transition, the fact is that we are navigating through unprecedented and complex socio-legal scenarios. Scandals such as Cambridge Analytica, Robodebt, SyRI or the recent use of military AI for the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza show that we are not yet ready to tackle some of the critical issues of our time. Is it legitimate to talk about ethical AI weapons ready to kill autonomously on the basis of metadata? Should a socio-technical system decide the status of a visa refugee applicant? Is predictive policing and automated surveillance the solution to perceived insecurity on our streets? Do we want a handful of corporations to control the backbone of digital infrastructures? Do we want these same corporations to set the terms of the “green and digital” transition legal and political agenda?
This is not a traditional law and technology course. It is a socio-legal approach to the profound and contradictory social, economic, political, environmental and, of course, legal changes we are experiencing in the digital age. Our intention is not to offer answers, but to provide epistemological and methodological tools with which to address some of the most pressing socio-legal challenges.
To this end, we will take a critical and interdisciplinary approach to tackle issues such as the digitalisation of racism, the platforming of education, the algorithmic control of workers, the incorporation of cyberwarfare technologies into civilian spheres, or the socio-environmental impacts of technologies such as AI.
Teaching Methodology:
The course will adopt a proactive teaching methodology, inspired by Paolo Freire, emphasizing a participatory and interactive learning environment. This approach will facilitate critical thinking and encourage students to draw connections between theoretical knowledge and real-world implications. Students will engage in active discussions, group projects, and case studies, fostering a collaborative learning atmosphere. The course will also integrate multimedia materials, guest lectures, and practical workshops to provide diverse perspectives and hands-on experiences.
Through this methodology, the course aims to not only impart knowledge but also empower students to critically analyze and challenge the prevailing structures and practices in digital capitalism. The goal is to cultivate a generation of thinkers and practitioners who are equipped to address and mitigate the negative impacts of digital capitalism in society.
Topics:
- Introduction to Sociolegal Studies in the Digital Age
- Overview of the digital age and its sociolegal implications.
- Automating the Crimes of the Powerful: Understanding the role of digital platforms.
- Digitized State Racism and Algorithmic Oppression
- Exploring the concept of digitized state racism.
- The impact of automated decision systems on societal structures.
- The Digital Take-over of Education
- Analyzing the implications of digital platforms in educational settings.
- Political Economy of digital education.
- Cyberwarfare Against the People
- Understanding cyberwarfare and its sociolegal aspects.
- Mass Surveillance and Preemptive risk: Legal and ethical considerations.
- The Materiality of Digital Exploitation
- Examining the concept of digital exploitation in the context of labor.
- Algorithmic exploitation and its racial capitalism dimensions.
- Digital Capitalist Ecocides
- Debunking myths around technology and environmentalism.
- Understanding the ecological footprint of AI
- Case study on lithium ecocide.
- Artificial Intelligence Ethics
- Exploring ethical considerations in AI development and deployment.
- The role of AI in societal structures and individual rights.
- Conclusion: Platformed Criminals and Regulatory Challenges
- From Data Harms to Data Crimes: Examining the criminalization of digital platforms.
- The future of regulating Big Tech: Limits and possibilities.
