Professor Jeannie Marie Paterson, Centre for AI and Digital Ethics, The University of Melbourne
Australia’s legal response to the challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) currently rests on three key elements: ‘soft law’ codes of AI ethics, data privacy legislation (currently undergoing reform including to promote greater data protection, potentially modelled on the GDPR), and reliance on general ‘principles-based’ legislation, with its built in flexibility for adapting to new scenarios. This presentation considers this approach. It suggests a complementary and important role for the kinds of measures contemplated by the EU’s draft AI Act, which focus on risk and provide ‘ex ante’ processes for promoting fair, safe/reliable, and accountable AI. The presentation also argues that greater scrutiny under the draft AI Act, and any Australian equivalent, may be warranted for what might be termed ‘domestic AI’ applications, namely AI-informed products used within the home and for access to services focused on the domestic sphere.
About the speaker
Jeannie Marie Paterson teaches and researches in the areas of consumer protection law, consumer credit and banking law, and the law and regulation of emerging digital technologies.
Jeannie is the co-director of the Centre for AI and Digital Ethics, a collaborative, interdisciplinary research, teaching and policy centre at the University of Melbourne. She is also co-leader of the Digital Equity and Access research stream at the Melbourne Social Equity Institute.