Hello, dear readers! Today’s issue doesn’t follow the usual format for this newsletter. This is not for a want of subject matter, as there are quite a few things I want to write about,1 but rather because I want to skip straight to the recommendations. So, today I will share some recently-published stuff of mine, followed by recommendations of other people’s writing, and few open job applications and calls for papers. Finally, the eponymous otter. Before that, however, here’s a photo of my dog, Winnie.
Reading recommendations
After publishing the previous issue, there are a few things I’d like to share with you. First, there are two works in progress that might interest a reader of this newsletter. My working paper on how technical transparency is framed as a legal issue in EU law and how technical approaches to opacity fall short of delivering what the law expects of them. There is also my accepted paper with Anca Radu on the AI Act’s potential Brussels Effect and the problems it creates to the protection of “fuzzier” values such as fundamental rights, democracy, and the rule of law. Feedback on those pieces is most welcome, as we are still preparing their final versions.
In addition, a few pieces are now available on a more finalised form. The GDPR commentary to which I contributed is now available for purchase on a digital format, for those who enjoy CTRL+F-ing stuff or do not want to carry a bludgeoning weapon around. And, while my article on automated uncertainty is still forthcoming at the Review of European Administrative Law, my former colleagues at The Digital Constitutionalist were kind enough to publish some of its findings as a contribution to their symposium on AI and the Right to a Good Administration.
Speaking of which, you should definitely check the other contributions to the symposium, which features both foundational discussions (e. g. by Albert Sanchez-Graells and Filipe Brito Bastos) and domain-specific analyses (e.g. by Mitisha Gaur and Alexandra Sinclair). Start from the introduction by Simona Demkova, Melanie Fink, and Giulia Gentile, and you will find lots of interesting posts to read.
Moving on to another domain, some recent reporting has shown the problematic coalitions that is pushing for the adoption of the questionable Commission proposal for the ChatControl 2.0 regulation. Balkan Insight has investigated the links between NGOs that are active in this proposal, Commission staff, and technology companies selling magical solutions to the problem. This reporting also reminds us that slippery slopes are not always a fallacy, as it shows that Europol is eager to use the extensive data gathering that it would enable to pursue other investigations. And, as highlighted by The Cut and Wired, even if the technical solutions could address the issues at hand (they cannot, despite all the handwaving by the Commission), they do not address the real challenges faced by survivors of child abuse and human trafficking, or by the organizations supporting these people.
Other readings that might be of interest:
Mariolina Eliantonio, ‘Systemic Breaches of EU Environmental Law and Techniques of Judicial Engagement with Science: The Underused Potential of Infringement Proceedings’ (2023) 24 German Law Journal 948;
Claire Boine and David Rolnick, ‘General Purpose AI Systems in the AI Act: Trying to Fit a Square Peg into a Round Hole’. WeRobot 2023.
Miroslava Scholten (ed), Research Handbook on the Enforcement of EU Law (Edward Elgar Publishing 2023).
Jai Vipra and Sarah Myers West, ‘Computational Power and AI’ (AI Now Institute, 27 September 2023).
Opportunities
Jobs
The CZS Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Law is looking for two Independent Research Group Leaders to work with Michèle Finck, Ulrike von Luxburg, and Stefan Thomas at the University of Tübingen. This is a five-year position with no teaching obligation, paid at the E14 TV-L level (for those of you familiar with German public service arcana), and with funding for PhD students of your own. It is targeted at people who completed their first post-doc or, at least, their PhD, and applications are open until 15 October 2023.
Meanwhile, in Belgium, UCLouvain has a full-time academic position in European Union Law for their Saint Louis (Brussels) campus. The hired person “will play a key role in setting up and managing a new interdisciplinary and practice-oriented Master programme in EU Studies”, with a teaching load capped at 90 hours until tenure. Applications are open until 13 November 2023.
Last but not least, the European University Institute has an open call for applications for its Max Weber Programme. The programme is aimed at people who finished their PhDs in the last few years. Fellowships last either one or two years, depending on the department (one year for the Law department), and applicants from the entire world are welcome. The deadline for applications is 18 October 2023.
Calls for papers
The CHAIN Project will host the conference ‘Public Governance and Emerging Technologies: Values, Trust, and Compliance by Design’ on 11-12 January 2024 in Utrecht. The deadline for abstracts and panel proposals is 15 October 2023.
The ESIL Annual Conference 2024 will take place in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 5-6 September 2024. They have an open call for papers on a broad set of topics connected to the conference’s overarching theme of Technological Change and International Law. Alas, none of them is related to my particular interests, but many of you are likely to be closer to those topics than I am. Abstracts in French or English are due by 31 January 2024.
The Salzburg Center of European Union Studies (SCEUS) will host on 14-15 March 2024 a Young Scholars Workshop on EU studies, aimed at PhD students and people who obtained their PhDs after 1 November 2018. Abstracts are due by 31 October 2023.
The Digital Government Society (DGS) announces the 25th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research - dg.o 2024, with the theme "Internet of Beings: Transforming Public Governance" in Taipei, Taiwan on June 11-14, 2024. Submissions of full papers, workshops, tutorials, and panels are due by 26 January 2024.
And now, the otter
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When you need to re-draft a chapter, suddenly everything else starts to look very interesting.