Protected Grounds and the System of Non-Discrimination Law in the Context of Algorithmic Decision-Making and Artificial Intelligence
Janneke Gerards, Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius
Algorithmic decision-making and similar types of artificial intelligence (AI) may lead to improvements in all sectors of society, but can also have discriminatory effects. While current non-discrimination law offers people some protection, algorithmic decision-making presents the law with several challenges. For instance, algorithms can generate new categories of people based on seemingly innocuous characteristics, such as web browser preference or apartment number, or more complicated categories combining many data points. Such new types of differentiation could evade non-discrimination law, as browser type and house number are not protected characteristics, but such differentiation could still be unfair, for instance if it reinforces social inequality. This paper explores which system of non-discrimination law can best be applied to algorithmic decision-making, considering that algorithms can differentiate on the basis of characteristics that do not correlate with protected grounds of discrimination such as ethnicity or gender. The paper analyses the current loopholes in the protection offered by non-discrimination law and explores the best way for lawmakers to approach algorithmic differentiation. While we focus on Europe, the conceptual and theoretical focus of the paper can make it useful for scholars and policymakers from other regions too, as they encounter similar problems with algorithmic decision-making.
When Anti-Fraud Laws Become a Barrier to Computer Science Research
Madelyne Xiao, Andrew Sellars, Sarah Scheffler
Computer science research sometimes brushes with the law, from red-team exercises that probe the boundaries of authentication mechanisms, to AI research processing copyrighted material, to platform research measuring the behavior of algorithms and users. U.S.-based computer security research is no stranger to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in a relationship that is still evolving through case law, research practices, changing policies, and legislation. Amid the landscape computer scientists, lawyers, and policymakers have learned to navigate, anti-fraud laws are a surprisingly under-examined challenge for computer science research. Fraud brings separate issues that are not addressed by the methods for navigating CFAA, DMCA, and Terms of Service that are more familiar in the computer security literature. Although anti-fraud laws have been discussed to a limited extent in older research on phishing attacks, modern computer science researchers are left with little guidance when it comes to navigating issues of deception outside the context of pure laboratory research. In this paper, we analyze and taxonomize the anti-fraud and deception issues that arise in several areas of computer science research. We find that, despite the lack of attention to these issues in the legal and computer science literature, issues of misrepresented identity or false information that could implicate anti-fraud laws are actually relevant to many methodologies used in computer science research, including penetration testing, web scraping, user studies, sock puppets, social engineering, auditing AI or socio-technical systems, and attacks on artificial intelligence. We especially highlight the importance of anti-fraud laws in two research fields of great policy importance: attacking or auditing AI systems, and research involving legal identification.
The Perfect Match? A Closer Look at the Relationship between EU Consumer Law and Data Protection Law
Natali Helberger, Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius, Agustin Reyna
In modern markets, many companies offer so-called 'free' services and monetize consumer data they collect through those services. This paper argues that consumer law and data protection law can usefully complement each other. Data protection law can also inform the interpretation of consumer law. Using consumer rights, consumers should be able to challenge excessive collection of their personal data. Consumer organizations have used consumer law to tackle data protection infringements. The interplay of data protection law and consumer protection law provides exciting opportunities for a more integrated vision on 'data consumer law'.
La réflexivité au cœur du droit constitutionnel comparé
Alexis Buixan
Réfléchir à l’émergence du concept de « culture de constitution » dans le débat académique pose la question de l’intériorisation par les acteurs politiques et juridiques des formes constitutionnelles dans leurs pratiques politiques. Inscrit dans une démarche comparatiste, ce phénomène permet de mettre en évidence des trajectoires nationales singulières, déterminées par l’histoire, les mœurs, les contextes sociaux et les règles de droit. Ce concept devient ainsi un étalon pour éprouver la légitimité et l’adhésion ressenties à l’égard de la Constitution. Une telle méthode juridico-culturelle nous informe plus largement sur la fonction réflexive du droit constitutionnel comparé : « connaître l’autre pour mieux se connaître soi-même ».
Public law, History of Law
Polarized Light from Massive Protoclusters (POLIMAP). I. Dissecting the role of magnetic fields in the massive infrared dark cloud G28.37+0.07
C-Y Law, Jonathan C. Tan, Raphael Skalidis
et al.
Magnetic fields may play a crucial role in setting the initial conditions of massive star and star cluster formation. To investigate this, we report SOFIA-HAWC+ $214\:μ$m observations of polarized thermal dust emission and high-resolution GBT-Argus C$^{18}$O(1-0) observations toward the massive Infrared Dark Cloud (IRDC) G28.37+0.07. Considering the local dispersion of $B$-field orientations, we produce a map of $B$-field strength of the IRDC, which exhibits values between $\sim0.03 - 1\:$mG based on a refined Davis-Chandrasekhar-Fermi (r-DCF) method proposed by Skalidis \& Tassis. Comparing to a map of inferred density, the IRDC exhibits a $B-n$ relation with a power law index of $0.51\pm0.02$, which is consistent with a scenario of magnetically-regulated anisotropic collapse. Consideration of the mass-to-flux ratio map indicates that magnetic fields are dynamically important in most regions of the IRDC. A virial analysis of a sample of massive, dense cores in the IRDC, including evaluation of magnetic and kinetic internal and surface terms, indicates consistency with virial equilibrium, sub-Alfvénic conditions and a dominant role for $B-$fields in regulating collapse. A clear alignment of magnetic field morphology with direction of steepest column density gradient is also detected. However, there is no preferred orientation of protostellar outflow directions with the $B-$field. Overall, these results indicate that magnetic fields play a crucial role in regulating massive star and star cluster formation and so need to be accounted for in theoretical models of these processes.
Topic Classification of Case Law Using a Large Language Model and a New Taxonomy for UK Law: AI Insights into Summary Judgment
Holli Sargeant, Ahmed Izzidien, Felix Steffek
This paper addresses a critical gap in legal analytics by developing and applying a novel taxonomy for topic classification of summary judgment cases in the United Kingdom. Using a curated dataset of summary judgment cases, we use the Large Language Model Claude 3 Opus to explore functional topics and trends. We find that Claude 3 Opus correctly classified the topic with an accuracy of 87.13% and an F1 score of 0.87. The analysis reveals distinct patterns in the application of summary judgments across various legal domains. As case law in the United Kingdom is not originally labelled with keywords or a topic filtering option, the findings not only refine our understanding of the thematic underpinnings of summary judgments but also illustrate the potential of combining traditional and AI-driven approaches in legal classification. Therefore, this paper provides a new and general taxonomy for UK law. The implications of this work serve as a foundation for further research and policy discussions in the field of judicial administration and computational legal research methodologies.
El Impacto de la Accesibilidad en el Derecho a la Vida Privada y Familiar
Begoña Rodriguez Diaz
(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(2), 525-535 | European Forum Insight of 3 August 2023 | (Table of Contents) I. Introducción - II. Hechos - III. La falta de accesibilidad como límite al derecho a la vida privada y familiar - IV. Accesibilidad y ajustes razonables: una oportunidad perdida - V. La carga desproporcionada e indebida - VI. Conclusión | (Abstract) Persons with disabilities keep struggling to enjoy their rights on equal conditions with other people de-spite being granted the right of non-discrimination under several international treaties. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is increasingly turning to a systemic interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). However, the case to be studied shows some contradictions between the interpre-tation given by the ECtHR and the Committee of the CRPD and points to the need of a better under-standing of notions related with disability and a stricter control on the States’ discretion to adopt rea-sonable accommodation measures.
Effective Response to Human Trafficking in South Africa: Law as a Toothless Bulldog
Paul Oluwatosin Bello, Adewale A. Olutola
Humanitarian concerns owing to the dreadfulness and impact of human trafficking prompted several stakeholders under the umbrella of the United Nations (UN) to approve legal measures to criminalize this menace. Several states that are parties to the UN anti-trafficking protocols and conventions have domesticated some of the provisions of these regulations by enacting comprehensive laws that criminalize the various components of human trafficking. Unfortunately, this approach has not brought about any significant reduction in the crime. This article adopted a qualitative approach and drew from the findings of a broader doctoral study. It evaluates the efficacy of current South African anti-trafficking legislation in the fight against human trafficking in the country. Findings indicate, among others, that anti-trafficking legislation is at best a stop-gap strategy in combating the crime, and not all-encompassing. It concludes that an effective response to human trafficking transcends the enactment of laws. Moreover, laws do not thrive in a vacuum, but rely on a range of factors, particularly the political will to address the underlying causes of a crime, and effective law enforcement capacity.
History of scholarship and learning. The humanities, Social Sciences
Cybersecurity Law: Legal Jurisdiction and Authority
Feras A. Batarseh
Cybersecurity threats affect all aspects of society; critical infrastructures (such as networks, corporate systems, water supply systems, and intelligent transportation systems) are especially prone to attacks and can have tangible negative consequences on society. However, these critical cyber systems are generally governed by multiple jurisdictions, for instance the Metro in the Washington, D.C. area is managed by the states of Virginia and Maryland, as well as the District of Columbia (DC) through Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Additionally, the water treatment infrastructure managed by DC Water consists of waste water input from Fairfax and Arlington counties, and the district (i.e. DC). Additionally, cyber attacks usually launch from unknown sources, through unknown switches and servers, and end up at the destination without much knowledge on their source or path. Certain infrastructures are shared amongst multiple countries, another idiosyncrasy that exacerbates the issue of governance. This law paper however, is not concerned with the general governance of these infrastructures, rather with the ambiguity in the relevant laws or doctrines about which authority would prevail in the context of a cyber threat or a cyber-attack, with a focus on federal vs. state issues, international law involvement, federal preemption, technical aspects that could affect lawmaking, and conflicting responsibilities in cases of cyber crime. A legal analysis of previous cases is presented, as well as an extended discussion addressing different sides of the argument.
The Galactic Chemical Evolution of phosphorus observed with IGRINS
G. Nandakumar, N. Ryde, M. Montelius
et al.
Phosphorus (P) is considered to be one of the key elements for life, making it an important element to look for in the abundance analysis of spectra of stellar systems. Yet, there exists only a handful of spectroscopic studies to estimate the P abundances and investigate its trend across a range of metallicities. We have observed full HK band spectra at a spectral resolving power of R=45,000 with IGRINS instrument. Abundances are determined using SME in combination with 1D MARCS stellar atmosphere models. The investigated sample of stars have reliable stellar parameters estimated using optical FIES spectra (GILD; Jönsson et al. in prep.). In order to determine the P abundances from the 16482.92 Angstrom P line, we take special care of the CO($ν=7-4$) blend. We determine the C, N, O abundances from atomic carbon and a range of non-blended molecular lines (CO, CN, OH) which are aplenty in the H band region of K giant stars, assuring an appropriate modelling of the blending CO($ν=7-4$) line. We present [P/Fe] vs [Fe/H] trend for 38 K giant stars in the metallicity range of -1.2 dex $<$ [Fe/H] $<$ 0.4 dex. We find that our trend matches well with the compiled literature sample of prominently dwarf stars and limited number of giant stars. Our trend is found to be higher by $\sim$ 0.05 - 0.1 dex compared to the theoretical chemical evolution trend in Cescutti et al. 2012 resulting from core collapse supernova (type II) of massive stars with the P yields from Kobayashi et al. (2006) arbitrarily increased by a factor of 2.75. Thus the enhancement factor might need to be $\sim$ 0.05 - 0.1 dex higher to match our trend. We also find an empirically determined primary behaviour for phosphorus. Furthermore, the phosphorus abundance is found to be elevated by $\sim$ 0.6 - 0.9 dex in two metal poor s-enriched stars compared to the theoretical chemical evolution trend.
en
astro-ph.SR, astro-ph.GA
Scattering variability detected from the circumsource medium of FRB 20190520B
S. K. Ocker, J. M. Cordes, S. Chatterjee
et al.
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-timescale radio transients, the origins of which are predominantly extragalactic and likely involve highly magnetized compact objects. FRBs undergo multipath propagation, or scattering, from electron density fluctuations on sub-parsec scales in ionized gas along the line-of-sight. Scattering observations have located plasma structures within FRB host galaxies, probed Galactic and extragalactic turbulence, and constrained FRB redshifts. Scattering also inhibits FRB detection and biases the observed FRB population. We report the detection of scattering times from the repeating FRB 20190520B that vary by up to a factor of two or more on minutes to days-long timescales. In one notable case, the scattering time varied from $7.9\pm0.4$ ms to less than 3.1 ms ($95\%$ confidence) over 2.9 minutes at 1.45 GHz. The scattering times appear to be uncorrelated between bursts or with dispersion and rotation measure variations. Scattering variations are attributable to dynamic, inhomogeneous plasma in the circumsource medium, and analogous variations have been observed from the Crab pulsar. Under such circumstances, the frequency dependence of scattering can deviate from the typical power-law used to measure scattering. Similar variations may therefore be detectable from other FRBs, even those with inconspicuous scattering, providing a unique probe of small-scale processes within FRB environments.
en
astro-ph.HE, astro-ph.GA
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
Pro persona: fundamento y sentido de la primacía jurídica de la humanidad
Hugo Saúl Ramírez
Con el reconocimiento de los derechos humanos, el Estado de derecho adquiere el compromiso de orientar la praxis que legitima su existencia hacia la protección de los intereses fundamentales de todo ser humano. El principio pro persona es un elemento relevante en esta nueva faceta histórica del Estado de derecho, pues su aplicación tiene el potencial de encaminar la práctica jurídica hacia coordenadas que giran en torno a valores sustantivos. Teniendo en cuenta lo anterior, la cuestión central que se pretende comprender en este artículo apunta hacia el sentido y alcance del principio pro persona partiendo de la siguiente pregunta: ¿dónde se localiza la justificación radical y objetiva de su validez?
Trends and Characteristics of High-Frequency Type II Bursts Detected by CALLISTO Spectrometers
A. C. Umuhire, J. Uwamahoro, K. Sasikumar Raja
et al.
Solar radio type II bursts serve as early indicators of incoming geo-effective space weather events such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs). In order to investigate the origin of high-frequency type II bursts (HF type II bursts), we have identified 51 of them (among 180 type II bursts from SWPC reports) that are observed by ground-based Compound Astronomical Low-cost Low-frequency Instrument for Spectroscopy and Transportable Observatory (CALLISTO) spectrometers and whose upper-frequency cutoff (of either fundamental or harmonic emission) lies in between 150 MHz-450 MHz during 2010-2019. We found that 60% of HF type II bursts, whose upper-frequency cutoff $\geq$ 300 MHz originate from the western longitudes. Further, our study finds a good correlation $\sim $ 0.73 between the average shock speed derived from the radio dynamic spectra and the corresponding speed from CME data. Also, we found that analyzed HF type II bursts are associated with wide and fast CMEs located near the solar disk. In addition, we have analyzed the spatio-temporal characteristics of two of these high-frequency type II bursts and compared the derived from radio observations with those derived from multi-spacecraft CME observations from SOHO/LASCO and STEREO coronagraphs.
Emergent second law for non-equilibrium steady states
Nahuel Freitas, Massimiliano Esposito
The Gibbs distribution universally characterizes states of thermal equilibrium. In order to extend the Gibbs distribution to non-equilibrium steady states, one must relate the self-information $\mathcal{I}(x) = -\log(P_\text{ss}(x))$ of microstate $x$ to measurable physical quantities. This is a central problem in non-equilibrium statistical physics. By considering open systems described by stochastic dynamics which become deterministic in the macroscopic limit, we show that changes $Δ\mathcal{I} = \mathcal{I}(x_t) - \mathcal{I}(x_0)$ in steady state self-information along deterministic trajectories can be bounded by the macroscopic entropy production $Σ$. This bound takes the form of an emergent second law $Σ+ k_b Δ\mathcal{I}\geq 0$, which contains the usual second law $Σ\geq 0$ as a corollary, and is saturated in the linear regime close to equilibrium. We thus obtain a tighter version of the second law of thermodynamics that provides a link between the deterministic relaxation of a system and the non-equilibrium fluctuations at steady state. In addition to its fundamental value, our result leads to novel methods for computing non-equilibrium distributions, providing a deterministic alternative to Gillespie simulations or spectral methods.
Late-Time Evolution and Modeling of the Off-Axis Gamma-ray Burst Candidate FIRST J141918.9+394036
K. P. Mooley, B. Margalit, C. J. Law
et al.
We present new radio and optical data, including very long baseline interferometry, as well as archival data analysis, for the luminous decades-long radio transient FIRST J141918.9+394036. The radio data reveal a synchrotron self-absorption peak around 0.3 GHz and a radius of around 1.3 mas (0.5 pc) 26 years post-discovery, indicating a blastwave energy $\sim5 \times 10^{50}$ erg. The optical spectrum shows a broad [OIII]$λ$4959,5007 emission-line that may indicate collisional-excitation in the host galaxy, but its association with the transient cannot be ruled out. The properties of the host galaxy are suggestive of a massive stellar progenitor that formed at low metallicity. Based on the radio light curve, blastwave velocity, energetics, nature of the host galaxy and transient rates we find that the properties of FIRST J1419+39 are most consistent with long gamma-ray burst (LGRB) afterglows. Other classes of (optically-discovered) stellar explosions as well as neutron star mergers are disfavored, and invoking any exotic scenario may not be necessary. It is therefore likely that FIRST J1419+39 is an off-axis LGRB afterglow (as suggested by Law et al. and Marcote et al.), and under this premise the inverse beaming fraction is found to be $f_b^{-1}\simeq280^{+700}_{-200}$, corresponding to an average jet half-opening angle $<θ_j>\simeq5^{+4}_{-2}$ degrees (68% confidence), consistent with previous estimates. From the volumetric rate we predict that surveys with the VLA, ASKAP and MeerKAT will find a handful of FIRST J1419+39-like events over the coming years.
Multi-nucleon transfer in the interaction of 977 MeV and 1143 MeV $^{204}$Hg with $^{208}$Pb
V. V. Desai, A. Pica, W. Loveland
et al.
A previous study of symmetric collisions of massive nuclei has shown that current models of multi-nucleon transfer (MNT) reactions do not adequately describe the transfer product yields. To gain further insight into this problem, we have measured the yields of MNT products in the interaction of 977 (E/A = 4.79 MeV) and 1143 MeV (E/A = 5.60 MeV) $^{204}$Hg with $^{208}$Pb. We find that the yield of multi-nucleon transfer products are similar in these two reactions and are substantially lower than those observed in the reaction of 1257 MeV (E/A = 6.16 MeV) $^{204}$Hg + $^{198}$Pt. We compare our measurements with the predictions of the GRAZING-F, di-nuclear systems (DNS) and improved quantum molecular dynamics (ImQMD) models. For the observed isotopes of the elements Au, Hg, Tl, Pb and Bi, the measured values of the MNT cross sections are orders of magnitude larger than the predicted values. Furthermore, the various models predict the formation of nuclides near the N=126 shell, which are not observed.
Anti-racism legislation in Brazil: the role of the Courts in the reproduction of the myth of racial democracy
Marta Rodriguez de Assis Machado, Márcia Lima, Natália Neris
The goal of this paper is to analyze Brazilian anti-racism law in practice, assessing judicial response to cases of racial stigma and insult. We analyzed over 200 cases from 9 Brazilian states involving racial insults and racial disparagement in Brazilian courts of appeal. We find that the judiciary tends to downplay the importance of insult and stigma, often dismissing cases or lowering penalties. This judicial treatment conflicts with the evidence that racial insults are prevalent in society and serve to maintain racial hierarchies. While the judiciary appears to be enforcing anti-discrimination law, the actual decisions show that the legal system fails to recognize and deal with the real dynamics of Brazilian racism thereby reinforcing the myth of Brazil racial democracy.
KEHILANGAN KEWARGANEGARAAN BERDASARKAN UNDANG-UNDANG NOMOR 12 TAHUN 2006 TENTANG KEWARGANEGARAAN REPUBLIK INDONESIA (Tinjauan Yuridis Terhadap Peristiwa Kewarganegaraan Arcandra Tahar dan Gloria Natapradja Hamel)
Adhitia Pradana
<p><strong><em>ABSTRACT</em></strong></p><p><em>Widespread human interaction in the world provides opportunities for marriage between different nations of citizenship. Intermarriage is not uncommon among nations raises a problem, in terms of one's country of origin where the country in which she gave birth or born adopts the same nationality, it will not cause problems. However, when the two countries concerned have different systems, they can lead to circumstances that cause a person holds the status double nationality (bipatride) or instead became stateless altogether (apatride).</em></p><p><em>The issue of citizenship and non-citizenship, whether it concerns the procedure of obtaining and losing citizenship that is behind the author to do this research. This study aimed to analyze the concept of citizenship that apply in the constitutional system of the Republic of Indonesia and also to analyze the loss of citizenship based on Law No. 12 of 2006 on Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia. To achieve this goal, this research is done by using normative legal research method with prescriptive model. The collected legal material will be studied comprehensively and analyzed deductively by systematic presentation.</em></p><p><em>The results of research and discussion concluded that: First, the concept of citizenship in the constitutional system prevailing in Indonesia based on Law No. 12 of 2006 on Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia has to clarify and reinforce the position and legal certainty for every citizen of Indonesia, which is in conformity with mandated in the provisions of Article 26 paragraph (1) and Article 6 paragraph (1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia Year 1945. Second, the loss of citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia based on Law No. 12 of 2006 on citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia may occur due to loss of citizenship by itself, Loss of citizenship with a request, and loss of citizenship due to a marriage. In addition, based on the analysis of jurisdiction over the events lose citizenship Arcandra Tahar and Gloria Natapradja Hamel, it can be concluded that in accordance with the legislation on citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia, materially Arcandra Tahar has no citizenship and against Gloria Natapradja Hamel is a juridicial as a foreign citizen.</em></p><p><strong><em>Keywords </em></strong><em>: Republic of Indonesia, Citizenship, Losing Citizenship</em></p>
Law, Law in general. Comparative and uniform law. Jurisprudence
A Search for Molecular Gas in the Host Galaxy of FRB 121102
Geoffrey C. Bower, Ramprasad Rao, Melanie Krips
et al.
We present SMA and NOEMA observations of the host galaxy of FRB 121102 in the CO 3-2 and 1-0 transitions, respectively. We do not detect emission from either transition. We set $3σ$ upper limits to the CO luminosity $L_{CO} < 2.5 \times 10^7\,{\rm K\,km\,s}^{-1} {\, \rm pc^{-2}}$ for CO 3-2 and $L_{CO} < 2.3 \times 10^9\, {\rm K\,km\,s}^{-1} {\, \rm pc^{-2}}$ for CO 1-0. For Milky-Way-like star formation properties, we set a $3σ$ upper limit on the $H_2$ mass of $2.5 \times 10^8 \rm\ M_{\odot}$, slightly less than the predictions for the $H_2$ mass based on the star formation rate. The true constraint on the $H_2$ mass may be significantly higher, however, because of the reduction in CO luminosity that is common forlow-metallicity dwarf galaxies like the FRB host galaxy. These results demonstrate the challenge of identifying the nature of FRB progenitors through study of the host galaxy molecular gas. We also place a limit of 42 $μ$Jy ($3σ$) on the continuum flux density of the persistent radio source at 97 GHz, consistent with a power-law extrapolation of the low frequency spectrum, which may arise from an AGN or other nonthermal source.
en
astro-ph.HE, astro-ph.GA