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.
Computers Freedom Privacy... And Robotics
By Ryan Calo • June 18, 2010 at 5:03 pm
ACM Computers Freedom Privacy is in its 20th year. This year was exciting to me in that robots entered the mix. My panel on the topic featured forecaster and essayist Paul Saffo, EFF's Brad Templeton, philosopher Patrick Lin, and was moderated by Wired's Gary Wolf. You can find a video recording of our panel here. I also spoke to the Dr. Katherine Albrecht Radio Show, which was broadcasting live from the conference. Click here to listen.
Facebook's Security Screening
By Ryan Calo • June 14, 2010 at 10:38 am
UPDATE: Facebook explains the security procedure here. Apparently they only use photos if you have not set up another verification means. Also, I have confirmation that the photo identification is not being done for a secondary purpose.
I recently tried to sign on to Facebook from a coffee shop. I was told that I had to pass a security screening because of the "strange location." Fair enough. The actual test, however, was surprising. It was comprised of a multiple choice exam where I had to identify who was in a given picture.
A couple of things. First, some of the pictures were embarrassing. I doubt the person who uploaded them thought they would be used to screen for improper access. Think about it. Facebook is showing random private photos to people because it suspects they may not be the account holder. The photos must be private because they form the basis of a security screening. Read more » about Facebook's Security Screening
Should The Law Punish Robot Tasks Differently?
By Ryan Calo • May 19, 2010 at 3:54 pm
I attended a fascinating thesis defense today on the subject of human-robot interaction by Stanford PhD candidate Victoria Groom. HRI experiments apparently tend to focus on human encounters with robots; few studies test the psychology behind robot operation. Groom’s work explores how we feel about the tasks we perform through robots. One of the more interesting questions she and her colleagues ask is: to what extent do we feel like it’s really us performing the task? The question is important where, as in the military, people work through robots to carry out morally charged tasks. And the answer might have repercussions for how we think about evaluation and punishment. Read more » about Should The Law Punish Robot Tasks Differently?
New Blog: Robotics And The Law
By Ryan Calo • April 28, 2010 at 10:59 am
I started a new blog around robotics programming and scholarship at Stanford Law School. Some of us here believe that robotics is a transformative technology on par with the Internet. (We're not alone: the "roadmap for U.S. robotics" prepared for Congress by a coalition of robotics labs and research institutes is called "From Internet to Robotics.") I've said before and I'll say again: the age of Internet exceptionalism is over. We can now do "digital" things in the real world. The chief importance (and danger) of the Internet is the imaginative possibilities it opens up. Robotics is how we will prove the slogan Chris Anderson came up with in a slightly different context: "Atoms are the new bits." Please stay tuned.
Thanks to Elaine Adolfo for the image. Read more » about New Blog: Robotics And The Law
Thanks from WhatApp.org!
By Ryan Calo • April 6, 2010 at 12:01 pm
The response to WhatApp.org has been wonderful, thanks! We now have over 20 registered and approved experts from a wide variety of sectors, including privacy compliance, law, and computer science. Many (many) people have signed up, left comments, edited wikis, or suggested apps to review for privacy, security, and openness. (We're going to run out of apps to review, so please do "add an app" if you get a chance!) If you have comments or questions, please email whatapp@law.stanford.edu. It's a work in progress and we need your help. Thanks again---especially to the Rose Foundation for their generous support. Read more » about Thanks from WhatApp.org!
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The Center for Law and the Biosciences presents Ryan Calo
April 18, 2013
On April 10, 2013, Stanford's Center for Law and the Biosciences welcomed CIS Affiliate Scholar Ryan Calo to campus for a discussion on law and emerging technology, with an emphasis on spyware for your brain. Read more » about The Center for Law and the Biosciences presents Ryan Calo
The Future of Drones in America: Law Enforcement and Privacy Considerations
March 20, 2013
Hearing before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on “The Future of Drones in America: Law Enforcement and Privacy Considerations” Read more » about The Future of Drones in America: Law Enforcement and Privacy Considerations
Open Book Club: A Conversation With Neal Stephenson
October 23, 2012
CIS Affiliate Scholar Ryan Calo interviews Neal Stephenson, author of Readme. Topics include privacy, virtual economics and security. Beth Cantrell, Greg Lastowka, and Tadayoshi Kohno also included in panel interview. This event was hosted by the University of Washington Law School. Read more » about Open Book Club: A Conversation With Neal Stephenson
Drone Economies (Panel Discussion)
June 18, 2012
DRONE ECONOMIES (Panel Discussion) Arthur and Marilouise Kroker, David Brin, Ryan Calo, moderated by Ricardo Dominguez. Read more » about Drone Economies (Panel Discussion)
Robots, Privacy & Society- Cal Poly
May 29, 2012
It is not hard to imagine why robots raise privacy concerns. Practically by definition, robots are equipped with the ability to sense, process, and record the world around them. Robots can go places humans cannot go, see things humans cannot see. Robots are, first and foremost, a human instrument. And after industrial manufacturing, the principal use to which we’ve put that instrument has been surveillance. This talk explores the various ways that robots implicate privacy and why, absent conscientious legal and design interventions, we may never realize the potential of this transformative technology. Read more » about Robots, Privacy & Society- Cal Poly