See our publications page to read about research by our Centre members.
Artificial Intelligence and Law in New Zealand
A three-year project to evaluate legal and policy implications of artificial intelligence (AI) for New Zealand. The project is based at the University of Otago, and funded by the New Zealand Law Foundation. The team has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Internal Affairs to provide advice on algorithmic regulation, and is also working with ACC and the Ministry of Social Development.
Perception Inception
A research project funded by the New Zealand Law Foundation's Information Law and Policy Project, and affiliated with the Centre for Law and Policy in Emerging Technologies at the University of Otago Faculty of Law. The project examines ethical, legal and social questions arising from state-of-the-art emerging technologies. These technologies are capable of producing audio-visual information in ways we have not seen before, and of kinds we are unfamiliar with.
Future of Fairness symposium series 2011
Sport, Technology and Fairness; Fairness and Future Generations
22 - 23 March 2011
The New Zealand Law Foundation Centre for Law and Policy in Emerging Technologies, together with Genetics Otago hosted the first event in our Future of Fairness series.
Whether in the sporting arena, the genetics lab or the exam hall, new technologies present new challenges for ideas of 'fairness' and 'justice'. The Future of Fairness series considered this complex and intriguing relationship, and its implications for law, policy and society.
Featuring an outstanding line up of local and internationally renowned researchers, the symposium explored:
Day 1:
Sport, technology and fairness: What is it that we value about sports competitions, and to what extent is that value increased or threatened by practices such as 'gene doping' or 'smart' sportswear? Are regulatory bodies like WADA safeguarding something of value, or are their rules arbitrary and archaic?
Day 2:
Fairness and future generations: Genetic and reproductive technologies present a growing range of options for influencing or selecting the traits of future children. But are we right to do so? What obligations do we owe to the children we may have? Is radical enhancement consistent with continuity of personal identity? And what impact will enhancement technologies have on the unenhanced?
In short, are we drawing lines in the right places – or indeed, are we right to draw lines at all?
Guest speakers
Andy Miah, Professor of Ethics and Emerging Technologies at the University of the West of Scotland, author of Genetically Modified Athletes (Routledge, 2004)
Ronald M Green, Eunice & Julian Cohen Professor for the Study of Ethics and Human Values at Dartmouth College, and author of Babies by Design: The Ethics of Genetic Choice (Yale University Press, 2007).
Nanotechnology Project
In 2011, the Centre completed a review of New Zealand's regulatory system relating to nanotechnology. The review was funded by the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology.
Wikileaks: Guardian of the Public Interest or Hotbed of Anarchy?
In April 2011 the centre hosted a public lecture chaired by Colin Gavaghan, Director of the New Zealand Law Foundation Centre for Law and Policy in Emerging Technologies, with speakers Mr Jeffrey Matsuura, Fullbright Senior Scholar and Counsel, Alliance Law Group Washington DC, and Andy Miah, Professor of Ethics and Emerging Technologies from the University of West Scotland looking at Wikileaks.
Watch the lecture (MP4, 104MB)
Human Genome Research Project
The New Zealand Law Foundation sponsored the Human Genome Research Project, 'Law, Ethics and Policy for the Future'.
Visit the Human Genome Research Project webpages.