95637 - EU LAW OF ALGORITHM

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

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.

Contenuti

The course is divided into two modules.

The first module, taught by Professor Emanuele Menegatti, 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.

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) Remote working and digital technologies: from home-office to the mobile and virtual office.

- towards a new form of “autonomised” subordinated work

- Challenges coming from “working anytime, anywhere” model: the organization of working time and work-life balance (right to disconnection), performance appraisal, health and safety of “agile” workers; workers’ monitoring and protection of workers’ privacy.

d) Basic income to cope with the impact of work automation 

- Labour displacement and transformation caused by automation  

- The importance of income support scheme

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

- Access to data as a key competitive factor

- The notion of “privacy” under the GDPR in the era of social networks and platforms;

- The role of soft law in regulating data protection on the Internet.

- The challenges and limits of “profiling” and "scoring": what happens to banking, financial and insurance services.

- The possible extra-territorial reach of EU privacy and data protection law;

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

- Algorithmic justice, smart-contracts and the right to data access and control.

The course will be complemented with guest lectures held by experts in the field, within the framework of the EU funded EULA project (EU law for algorithm. 

 

Alongside the course, the students will have the possibility to participate to Introductory course on European Union Law (8 hours). The Course will provide a basic knowledge on the sources of EU Law, the four freedoms enshrined in the Treaties and the role of the European institutions.

The participation is not mandatory but highly recommended. At the end of this supplementary course students will have to take a written test providing a score between 0 to 2 points, which will be added to the final mark.

 

Testi/Bibliografia

Textbook adopted:

First Module

YOUR BOSS IS AN ALGORITHM

Antonio Aloisi and Valerio De Stefano

Hart Publishing, 2022

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 relevant chapters will be disclosed by the teacher after each class

Metodi didattici

Lectures, experts seminars, group work 

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

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".

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

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

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Emanuele Menegatti

Consulta il sito web di Francesco Quarta