This is a past event
The integration of AI systems into various products and services raises uncertainties regarding fundamental rights, democracy, the environment, and the free market. At the same time, these technological advances are characterised by rapid change. In this dual context, recent regulations, such as the EU AI Act, propose or require the establishment of regulatory sandboxes. These sandboxes are controlled environments set up by a competent authority, offering to regulatees the opportunity to test their technological tools. Based on a comparative case study of regulatory sandboxes in data protection, Sophie Weerts will present the legal and organisational issues associated with regulatory sandboxes and discuss their contribution to the concept of responsive regulation.
Sophie Weerts is an associate professor of public law at the Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration (IDHEAP) and co-chair of the Initiative Law and Society (IDES) at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). She holds a PhD in legal studies from UCLouvain and has practised law at the Brussels Bar and as a legal expert for the federal government on reforming public administration.
Since 2019, her research has focused on the digital transformation of the State and its impact on public law. She examines how law regulates technology and how technologies shape the content and scope of legal principles, as well as the impact on democracy and fundamental rights. In this regard, she has published on social media, open government data, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence. She is currently conducting a research project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation titled “Regulating the Algorithmic State with Regulatory Sandboxes.”
- Venue
- Taylor Building, Block C, Room C11/Microsoft Teams