LL204: The Foundations of AI Law and Regulation

Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers immense opportunities: it has the potential to transform and enhance human wellbeing, peace and prosperity. It also is an extremely disruptive technology which will change the way we do communicate, business and interact with one another. To successfully integrate AI into society we must ensure it is designed, developed, deployed, and used, in a manner that is safe, in such a way as to be human-centric, trustworthy and responsible. 

Against the backdrop of this challenge, this course considers how AI changes the legal landscape and how lawyers, and anyone interested in how our society is regulated, will need to adapt to this new landscape. It does so by examining how AI automates processes based upon data, a process known as datafication, and how data is used to train and the algorithms at the heart of AI. It asks how this impacts our data privacy and whether data protection law is ready to deal with this new wave of personal data exploitation. From here it moves on to examine who controls the development and deployment of these algorithms and how we might control their development and deployment in AI systems. It concludes by examining the current legal framework for AI regulation and asks how we should regulate AI and which approach is likely to be effective. 

Although law is jurisdictional much of the challenge of regulating AI is trans-jurisdictional and as a result this course will take a global approach to the question of how to regulate AI, focussing mostly on developments in the EU, UK, China and the US. It is highly comparative and will use materials drawn from a number of jurisdictions.  

This course does not require an in-depth understanding of digital technology or AI systems – we are primarily interested in the implications of the use of information technology, AI and Machine Learning, and the intended and unintended consequences of regulating that use.

Prerequisites: An introductory law course or ME102 The Ethics of Data and Artificial Intelligence. This course does not require an in-depth understanding of Artificial Intelligence.

Level: 200 level. Read more information on levels in our FAQs

Fees: Please see Fees and payments

Lectures: 36 hours

Classes: 18 hours

Assessment: One examination and one essay

Typical credit: 3-4 credits (US) 7.5 ECTS points (EU)

Please note: Assessment is optional but may be required for credit by your home institution. Your home institution will be able to advise how you can meet their credit requirements. For more information on exams and credit, read Teaching and assessment

This course is suited to those who are interested in the implications of the development and deployment of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and the intended and the potential unintended consequences thereof.

This course would be particularly useful to those considering a career in the field of law and digital technology, including governance of AI, data protection, platform regulation, digital rights, and cyber security.

• Critically evaluate contemporary developments in law and governance relating to AI and Machine Learning
• Display an understanding of how these developments relate to one another
• Examine areas of doctrinal and political debate surrounding rules and theories
• Evaluate those rules and theories in terms of internal coherence and practical outcomes
• Draw on the analysis and evaluation contained in primary and secondary sources

The design of this course is guided by LSE faculty, as well as industry experts, who will share their experience and in-depth knowledge with you throughout the course.