95637 - Eu Law of Algorithm

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student acquires an advanced critical understanding of the legal issues involving impact of algorithm decision-making on private and working life of persons and the role played by the EU law in granting the respect of human rights and governing transparency and accountability of automated decisions.

Course contents

The course is divided into two modules.

The first module, taught by Professor Leonardo Battista, deals with the employment law perspective on algorithmic management, with particular attention to the EU law perspective.

More in detail, it will cover the following topics:

a) The impact of digital technologies on the labour market:

- New models of work and work organization prompted by the digital revolution

- Labour market transformations brought by digital platforms

- Digital labour markets: Crowdworking and Work-on-demand Via App.

- Employment protection for Gig-Worker: the classification of gig-economy workers for the purpose of labour law and the recent Directive on platform workers

b) Algorithmic Management

- The transformation of employers' managerial prerogative. The Algorithmic Boss

- Automated decision making, workers' evaluation and rating systems, discrimination by algorithm

- Workers' privacy and data protection, workplace surveillance.

c) The role of collective actors

- Industrial relations and digitalisation

 

The second module, taught by Professor Francesco Quarta, accounts for the impact of algorithm and artificial intelligence on private law at large, focusing on the latest regulatory steps taken by the EU Institutions.

Students are expected to gain a solid command over the essential theoretical rationales and policy arguments to face the main challenges of this “Digital Decade”.

More in detail, the second module will cover the following areas:

- Algorithmic "justice": the use of artificial intelligence and predictive models for decision-making and law-enforcement purposes;

- Smart contracts and algorithmic contracting- Autonomous/Self-driving vehicles

- Access to data as a key competitive factor

- The notion of privacy and the protection of freedom of speech in the era of social networks and platforms;

- The challenges and limits of “profiling” and "scoring", with special regard to banking, financial, and insurance services.

- Institutional framework and remedies: supervision and public/private enforcement

Readings/Bibliography

Textbook adopted:

First Module

YOUR BOSS IS AN ALGORITHM

Antonio Aloisi and Valerio De Stefano

Hart Publishing, 2022 (available at Ruffilli Library)

Other readings will be uploaded on Virtuale.

Second Module

CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES IN THE ALGORITHMIC SOCIETY *

edited by Hans-Hans W. Micklitz, Oreste Pollicino, Amnon Reichman, Andrea Simoncini, Giovanni Sartor and Giovanni De Gregorio

Cambridge University Press, 2021

Available open-access at: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108914857

* The list of relevant chapters (necessary for the final exam) will be disclosed by the teacher after each class. More open-access materials will be uploaded on Virtuale.

Teaching methods

Lectures, experts seminars, group work

Assessment methods

Written tests, based on a combination of multiple-choice and open questions.

Grading system (0-30 scale):

<18: fail.

18-19: fair.

20-23: more than enough.

24-26: good.

27-30: very good/excellent.

30 cum laude/with honor.

Solid command of legal English is considered a "plus".

Teaching tools

Teaching materials, among which articles included in a special issue of the Italian Labour Law e-Journal (open-access), PowerPoint presentations, readings, Courts decisions, will be uploaded in the institutional platform (at: iol.unibo.it), in an open sources format

Office hours

See the website of Leonardo Battista

See the website of Francesco Quarta