Comprehensible Algorithms
Comprehensible Algorithms: a Legal Framework for the Use of Artificial Intelligence
The regulation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) raises multiple and complex questions. Central challenges are the lack of transparency and traceability of the decisions of AI systems, the risks for privacy protection, and the dangers of discrimination and manipulation.
Led by Prof. Dr. Florent Thouvenin (Zurich) and Prof. Dr. iur. Nadja Braun Binder, MBA (Basel), and in collaboration with Dr. iur. Stephanie Volz, RA (Zurich), Dr. phil. Franziska Oehmer (Zurich), Fabienne Graf, MLaw, LL.M. (Zurich), and Liliane Obrecht, BLaw (Basel), this research project aims to create a comprehensive legal framework for the use of AI in Switzerland.
In addition to generating new ways to interpret and apply existing laws, the project will develop both generally applicable legal provisions and selected sector-specific regulations for the public administration and media sectors. These new legal norms will be presented to decision-makers in politics and administration as well as to an interested public in the form of white papers. The legal findings will be published in the relevant legal journals.
The project is financially supported by the Mercator Foundation.
Results of the Project
- On November 10, 2021, this project was kicked off with an event at the University of Zurich. The event was simultaneously hosted as a Strategy Lab of the Digital Society Initiative (DSI), and the presentations and podium discussions are available as podcasts. With support from the Strategy Lab, an interdisciplinary team of researchers developed a position paper that was presented at the event and can be accessed here. The central topic of the kick-off event, which was addressed by various interest groups, was the positioning of Switzerland within a European and international environment. Please find the event proceedings here [in German only].
- In the beginning of 2022 the following paper (in German) was published: Braun Binder, Nadja/Kunz, Eliane/Obrecht, Liliane: Maschinelle Gesichtserkennung im öffentlichen Raum, sui generis 2022, S. 53-61.
- The second public event on this project took place on 8 November 2022. This involved the presentation of the first interim results of the project as well as a presentation by Ambassador Thomas Schneider on the Council of Europe's draft convention on the use of artificial intelligence. You can find the conference report here (in German only).
- On 22 November 2022, Nadja Braun Binder gave an interview in Echo der Zeit about future developments in the use of automated individual decisions in public administration (in German only).
- Also in November 2022, the following essay was published: Obrecht Liliane, Verfügung und automatisierte Einzelentscheidung - same same but different?, ex/ante 2022, pp. 38-45 (in German only).