Life and the Law in the Era of Data-Driven Agency

Edited by Mireille Hildebrandt, Research Professor of Interfacing Law and Technology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium; Full Professor of Smart Environments, Data Protection and the Rule of Law, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands and Kieron O’Hara, Emeritus Fellow in Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, UK

• Contents:Preface xii1. Introduction: Life and the law in the era of data-driven agency 1Mireille Hildebrandt and Kieron O’Hara2. Between the editors 16Kieron O’Hara and Mireille HildebrandtPART I3. Data-driven agency and knowledge 45Paul Dumouchel4. The emergent limbic media system 60Julie E. Cohen5. Smart technologies and our sense of self: Going beyondepistemic counter-profiling 80Sylvie Delacroix and Michael Veale6. Rethinking transparency for the Internet of Things 100m.c. schraefel, Richard Gomer, Enrico Gerding andCarsten Maple7. From the digital to a post-digital era? 117Charles EssPART II8. Do digital technologies put democracy in jeopardy? 135Gerard de Vries9. In defence of ‘Toma’: Algorithmic enhancement of a sense ofjustice 156David Stevens10. The conservative reaction to data-driven agency 175Kieron O’Hara and Mark Garnett11. Artificial intelligence, affordances and fundamental rights 194Christoph B. Graber12. Throttling machine learning 214Paul Ohm13. In the hall of masks: Contrasting modes of personification 230Niels van DijkRESPONSE14. Life and the law in the era of machine agency 253Mireille HildebrandtIndex 265

'The volume begins with a deep and insightful philosophical dialogue between the editors on AI, conservatism and legal protection, which sets the scene for the wide ranging but complementary chapters that follow. It confronts a set of questions about our data-driven present-future which are at once theoretical and practically urgent. Amongst the now-crowded literature on the political and legal implications of digital technologies, it is rare to encounter writing with such lyricism and verve, by turns whimsical and deadly serious. The chapters present a range of novel conceptual frames, from the algorithmic limbic system to a conservative defence against big data, each of which are bold and imaginative whilst being predicated on existing social and technological practices.'--Reuben Binns, University of Oxford, UK'In a time in which algorithms are pervading communication, culture and social life in increasingly effective ways, theoretical reflection often lags behind. Hildebrandt and O'Hara have succeeded in assembling and coordinating a brilliant collection of observations from different disciplines that, rather than being driven by technology, ambitiously show alternative perspectives. An illuminating read to help us understand and govern the challenges our society is facing.'--Elena Esposito, University of Bologna, Italy and University of Bielefeld, Germany'How should human agents preserve their humanity, their agency, and their valued institutions in their self-created data-driven environments? In this stimulating book - a follow-up to Smart Technologies and the End(s) of Law - readers will find more from Mireille Hildebrandt (in her own right and in conversation with her co-editor, Kieron O'Hara) and more from an impressive team of contributors (spanning law, philosophy, politics, media and computer science). Text is not yet dead; this is a must-read book.'--Roger Brownsword, King's College London and Bournemouth University, UK