LW5118 - Regulating Innovation: Law, Technology and Governance

This module will use a series of 12 lectures to initiate and stimulate your thinking on the issues mentioned above. 6 x 2-hour seminars will provide an opportunity to discuss the detailed aspects of regulating innovative technology. These discussions will consolidate your understanding and allow you to critique and analyse the nuance of this areas. During your seminars, you will be afforded opportunities to undertake research and to consider the evolution of governance of innovative technology. You will undertake tasks both individually and in groups. During these seminars you will receive feedback from your tutors and from fellow students and you will be encouraged to reflect upon this to improve your research, writing and understanding of the way in which law and technology interact. Your module is supported by a range of electronic materials, which are made available to all students via the eLearning platform (Blackboard Ultra). These include lecture recordings, written guidance, podcasts, YouTube videos, and self-test exercises. You will receive a module handbook which outlines the formal sessions (lectures and seminars) and provides details of independent study/learning.

You will be supported academically in a number of ways:
- Oral feedback from tutors during small-group discussions and debates in seminars
- Oral feedback on your PowerPoint presentation in the seminars
- Seminar exercise on using the marking criteria to grade past student assessments thereby helping you to engage with the marking criteria in advance of the assessment
- The use of mentimeter and other interactive mechanisms in lectures which provide immediate feedback on key questions
- The module Blackboard Ultra site (which includes video clips from the BBCs ‘Box of Broadcasts’ where relevant)
- Electronic reading list which provides easy access to relevant articles and chapters from e-books
Additionally, the module tutor and guest lecturers on the module will have an internationally recognised academic profile in the area.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

Knowledge & Understanding:
• You will demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of the development, underlying concepts, principles and context of substantive areas of law relating to the regulation of technology, and be able to initiate and undertake critical analysis within those areas.
• You will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts, values, principles and rules of public and private laws within an institutional, national and global context relating to the regulation of technology and innovation.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
• You will be able to recognise ambiguity and uncertainty in laws relating to the regulation of technology and innovation and, where appropriate, identify potential law reforms

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
• Develop intellectual independence by being able to ask and answer cogent questions about law and legal systems relating to the regulation of technology and innovation, identify gaps in knowledge and acquire new knowledge.

Formative feedback will be provided throughout the module, particularly in relation to seminar tasks.
Marking criteria will be provided from the start of the module to enable you to understand what is expected and how you will be judged on your performance.

Summative assessment will be a single piece of written coursework (maximum 2000-word limit).

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This module examines the dynamic issues of regulating emerging technologies within a legal framework. In an era of rapid innovation, the module explores the intersection between law and innovation, critically analyzing the challenges, opportunities, and ethical considerations inherent in governing new technologies. Drawing on a teaching team of internationally recognized academic experts, the module will give you an understanding of the diverse range of emerging technologies such as AI, smart tech, e-commerce, space technologies and security applications. You will examine their societal impact, potential risks to privacy, and transformative capabilities within society. Central to this exploration is the examination of the current legal landscape and its adaptability to accommodate these disruptive innovations. The module unpacks the existing regulatory frameworks at national and international levels, evaluating their effectiveness in addressing the ethical, privacy, security, and liability concerns arising from new technologies.