Cognitive Sovereignty: A Useful Addition to our Normative Repertoire?

What does it mean to understand the world around us when more and more of it is shaped by opaque algorithmic systems? And do we have a right not only to control our data, but also to understand our place in an increasingly automated society?

In this talk, Professor Lee Andrew Bygrave explores cognitive sovereignty - the human ability and moral entitlement, to understand our surroundings and our place within them. He asks whether this concept is missing from our current normative repertoire and whether it deserves greater attention as algorithm-driven processes increasingly shape the way we experience, navigate and make sense of the world.

Building on his chapter Machine Learning, Cognitive Sovereignty and Data Protection Rights with Respect to Automated Decisions, the talk will examine how cognitive sovereignty might enrich existing legal and normative frameworks, particularly in the context of automated decision-making. It offers an opportunity to reflect on the role of law in safeguarding our ability to understand the world around us and our place within it.

Programme

15:00 - 15:30 Walk-in coffee/tea
15:30 - 16:15 Lecture Prof. Lee A. Bygrave: Cognitive Sovereignty: A useful addition to our normative repertoire?
16:15 - 17:00 Q&A
17:00 - 18:00 Drinks

Limited capacity. Registration is required.

About Prof. Lee Andrew Bygrave

Lee A. Bygrave is Full Professor at the Department of Private Law, University of Oslo, where he is also Director of the Norwegian Research Center for Computers and Law (NRCCL). He is additionally an Academic Affiliate of the Centre for Health, Law and Emerging Technologies at the University of Oxford and Senior Research Affiliate of the Centre for Digital Law at Singapore Management University. For the past three decades, Lee has carried out pioneering research and development of regulatory policy on information and communication technology. He has functioned as expert advisor on technology regulation for numerous organisations, including the European Commission, Nordic Council of Ministers, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, and Norwegian government. He currently heads a major research project at the NRCCL titled ‘Truth, Information, Democracy and Law’ (TIDAL) which examines the interaction of law and information disorder. Lee has published particularly extensively within the fields of data protection law and internet governance, and he is one of the principal editors and authors of the GDPR Commentary published by Oxford University Press in 2020 (soon to be published in a second edition). His work on the GDPR has been cited multiple times by Advocates General of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

This talk is part of the AlgoSoc Speaker Series.