Reflection on the impacts of artificial intelligence on business and human rights and freedoms. Possible risks, protection needs and future perspectives.
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence series
This MOOC is one of the MOOCs of the series titled “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence”, aimed at providing technical and non-technical, including historical and political, notions on artificial intelligence. The series investigates why artificial intelligence is nowadays considered the most disruptive enabling technologies up to at least 2050 and gives basic groundings for a preliminary approach to the area. It also deepens ethical issues and national strategies.
See the other MOOCs of the series.
If you are a POLIMI student you have to log in using your Person Code. This is the only way to prove your participation in this course for official recognition.
Course description
The purpose of the course is to help students understand the legal implications related to the design and use of artificial intelligence systems, providing an overview of the risks and legal protections that can be envisaged and giving an overview of the legislation and legal principles currently applicable on the subject. In particular, the profiles of civil and criminal liability, protection in terms of intellectual property and the impacts of AI on the fundamental rights of the individual - including privacy and the right to non-discrimination – will be examined.
Total workload of the course: 8 h
This MOOC is provided by Politecnico di Milano.
Information about fees and access to materials
You can access the course absolutely free of charge and completely online.
Course materials will remain available to all enrolled users after the end of the current edition, so they can return to content later. The current course edition will be followed by a new one just after its end.
Learning schedule
The course is structured in 4 weeks.
- Week 1 – Artificial Intelligence, Law and legal issues
- Week 2 – Artificial Intelligence and Liability
- Week 3 – Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property
- Week 4 – Artificial Intelligence and risks to fundamental rights
In particular, Week 1 will introduce the topic of Artificial Intelligence and the state of the art of its regulation at legislative level. The main legal issues will also be introduced.
In Week 2 the liability aspects of using and manufacturing Artificial Intelligence will be analysed, focusing on the existing legal framework about civil liability both arising from contractual and non-contractual damages and eventually about criminal liability.
Week 3 will focus on Artificial Intelligence systems’s intellectual property aspects, both in terms of the protection of the AI system created and the protection of the work created by an AI system.
Week 4 focuses on the risks to fundamental rights arising from the usage of Artificial Intelligence, such as privacy, information and massive surveillance and related potentially compressed freedoms.
Intended Learning Outcomes
By actively participating in this MOOC, you will achieve different intended learning outcomes (ILOs).
Week 1
- Recognize that the use of AI requires to be analysed, evaluated and addressed also from a legal point of view.
ESCO: emergent technologies
ESCO: comply with legal regulations
Week 2
- Indicate the main legal concepts of liability for the conduct and choices made by or through intelligent systems and compensation for any consequential damage.
- Identify the practical impacts of responsibility and compensation for damages caused from AI, with specific reference to case-studies.
ESCO: ICT security legislation
- Verify whether and which criminal law principles apply when an offence is committed by an AI system.
ESCO: criminal law
Week 3
- Recognize the difference between copyright and patent with respect to the protection of AI systems created.
ESCO: copyright legislation
ESCO: patents
- Identify legislative gaps with respect to the protection of works created autonomously by AI.
ESCO: analyse legislation
Week 4
- Recognize the risks to fundamental rights and freedoms deriving from non-regulated uses of AI.
- Identify the principal conditions for data processing and the limits set out by the law to protect privacy and human rights.
ESCO: use data processing techniques
ESCO: protecting privacy and personal data
Prerequisites
No prerequisite knowledge is required.
Activities
Over and above consulting the content, in the form of videos and other web-based resources, you will have the opportunity to discuss course topics and to share ideas with your peers in the Forum of this MOOC.
Assessment
To successfully complete this course, and henceforth receive the certificate of accomplishment, it is necessary to pass the quiz with 60%.
Certificate of Accomplishment
The Certificate of Accomplishment will be released to anyone who successfully completes the course by answering correctly to at least 60% of the questions by the end of the edition. You will be able to download the Certificate of Accomplishment directly on the website.
Once you have successfully passed the course, you can request the Certificate of Accomplishment without waiting for the end of the edition.
The Certificate of Accomplishment does not confer any academic credit, grade or degree.
European Qualifications Framework Level
EQF Level 6
Thematic area (ISCED-F classification)
This MOOC belongs to the following thematic areas:
061 Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
- 0619 Information and Communication Technologies not elsewhere classified
048 Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving business, administration and law
- 0488 Inter-disciplinary programmes and qualifications involving business, administration and law
Discussion forum
The forum of this MOOC is freely accessible and participation is not guided; you can use it to compare yourself with other participants, or to discuss course contents with them.
Contact details
If you have any enquiries about the course or if you need technical assistance please contact pok@polimi.it. For further information, see FAQ page.
Course Faculty
Annamaria Italiano
Annamaria Italiano is a lawyer and expert in IT and TLC law. She is a Senior Advisor for the Osservatori Digital Innovation of Politecnico di Milano and Partner of Partners4Innovation, an Advisory and Coaching Company, where she carries out consultancy activities to medium and large italian and international companies in relation to legal and contractual profiles related to the use and management of information systems and digitization. She carries out training and dissemination activities in the field of new technology law and is author or co-author of several publications and articles on ICT Law in specialized journals.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
