The Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School is a leader in the study of the law and policy around the Internet and other emerging technologies.
By Patrick Lin • December 15, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Related to my work here in robot ethics, the following is an advance look at my paper forthcoming in Journal of Military Ethics:
Read more » about Robots, Ethics & War
By Ryan Calo • September 8, 2010 at 1:32 pm
I don’t know that generativity is a theory, strictly speaking. It’s more of a quality. (Specifically, five qualities.) The attendant theory, as I read it, is that technology exhibits these particular, highly desirable qualities as a function of specific incentives. These incentives are themselves susceptible to various forces—including, it turns out, consumer demand and citizen fear.
The law is in a position to influence this dynamic. Thus, for instance, Comcast might have a business incentive to slow down peer-to-peer traffic and only refrain due to FCC policy. Or, as Barbara van Schewick demonstrates inter alia in Internet Architecture and Innovation, a potential investor may lack the incentive to fund a start up if there is a risk that the product will be blocked.
Similarly, online platforms like Facebook or Yahoo! might not facilitate communication to the same degree in the absence of Section 230 immunity for fear that they will be held responsible for the thousand flowers they let bloom. I agree with Eric Goldman’s recent essay in this regard: it is no coincidence that the big Internet players generally hail from these United States. Read more » about Will Robots Be 'Generative'?
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.
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?
Learn about the Center for Internet and Society. Come meet CIS and hear about our exciting work and ways to get involved. Learn about the Fair Use Project, Consumer Privacy Project, and more. Lunch will be provided. RSVP for this free event today. Read more » about Meet the Center for Internet and Society
Updated April 15, 2011
Watch video from the 2011 Robot Block Party
Check out pictures from the party
Read more » about Robot Block Party - April 14, 2011
November 1, 2011
October 27, 2011
Stanford Center for Internet and Society
Speakers:
Ian Kerr
John O. McGinnis
Lawrence B. Solum
Mary-Anne Williams
Moderator:
Ryan Calo Read more » about Artificial Intelligence - A Legal Perspective - Video
March 9, 2011
Ethics@Noon: M. Ryan Calo
Hosted by Bown H. McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society
January 21, 2011 Read more » about Privacy and Robots
January 20, 2011
M. Ryan Calo, a residential fellow at the Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society, is looking at the possible legal ramifications robots and robotics manufacturers might face.
Read more » about Stanford Expert Considers Robots and the Law
