Ryan Calo

Ryan Calo is an assistant professor at the University of Washington School of Law and a former research director at CIS. A nationally recognized expert in law and emerging technology, Ryan's work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, Wired Magazine, and other news outlets. Ryan serves on several advisory committees, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, and the Future of Privacy Forum. He co-chairs the American Bar Association Committee on Robotics and Artificial Intelligence and serves on the program committee of National Robotics Week.

You can read Ryan's work on SSRN and follow him on Twitter.

Privacy And Free Speech (ACLU No. Cal. Primer)

By Ryan Calo • March 10, 2009 at 4:21 pm

The ACLU of Northern California has published a primer (PDF) on the advantages to businesses of good privacy and free speech practices. The primer assembles many real-world instances of harms and benefits to companies due to their choices around user privacy and value speech. Congratulations to Nicky, Chris, and no doubt others in putting this together. Read more » about Privacy And Free Speech (ACLU No. Cal. Primer)

A Short Tour Of Robot Case Law

By Ryan Calo • March 5, 2009 at 11:41 am

“Robots again.” That’s how federal appellate judge Alex Kozinski begins his dissent from the Ninth Circuit’s decision not to rehear Wendt v. Host International. The “robots” refers to animatronic replicas of Cliff and Norm from the TV series Cheers built by an airport bar chain as a gimmick. The “again” refers to the earlier case of White v. Samsung, where Samsung ran ads depicting a robot version of Wheel of Fortune’s Vanna White with the tag line “Longest-running game show, 2012 A.D.” She sued. (To her credit, however, Ms. White kept her head. She did not turn into a car and drive over to Samsung headquarters, as was no doubt her first instinct.)

People suing over robot versions of themselves is just one of the ways robots make ordinary cases more interesting. As personal robotics moves toward the multibillion-dollar market Bill Gates and some analysts predict, we are likely to see more—and more interesting—robot-driven litigation. What follows is a little tour of robot case law to date. Read more » about A Short Tour Of Robot Case Law

See Otter

By Ryan Calo • March 3, 2009 at 2:38 pm

As if we privacy advocates didn't have enough to worry about, this sea otter apparently got a hold of a video camera and was "filming" tourists. Witnesses speculated that some boater dropped the camera and this fun-loving, puppy-of-the-sea found it floating in the Bay. But of course you and I know the terrible truth: DARPA microchips... Read more » about See Otter

Facebook & The Charitable Deceptions Of Nostalgia

By Ryan Calo • February 23, 2009 at 10:57 pm

Facebook trends proceed at a spooky (in the quantum sense) pace. It took the New York Times all of a week to pick up on 25 Random Things. I’ve noticed a subtler trend lately, one that is perhaps a more obvious sign of the times. The nostalgic photo album. Read more » about Facebook & The Charitable Deceptions Of Nostalgia

Symposium: Neuroscience And The Courts

By Ryan Calo • February 19, 2009 at 4:38 pm

The Stanford Technology Law Review’s symposium is scheduled for February 27th, 2009. According to its website, the symposium will “showcase vibrant legal scholarship on the interplay between new advances in neurotechnology and traditional legal principles and concerns.” Read more » about Symposium: Neuroscience And The Courts