General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6338 / JDOC6338 |
| Course name: | Regulatory Ecosystem of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme / JD Programme |
| Semester: | First |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Credit point value: | 9 credit / 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced technology (AT), the risks posed to society and individuals continue to grow ever so rapidly. Whilst the EU was one of the first to regulate AI and soon to come is cyber resilience regulations. Other areas of AT regulations include robotics and blockchain are on the rise. However, they are fragmented and reactive. This course will examine the regulatory eco-system of AI and AT that includes public policy debates, laws, regulations, and international/sectoral standards or voluntary codes of practice on the use of AI, cloud, robotics, internet of things, drones, blockchain (smart contract) and Regtech & Suptech. Furthermore, to gain insights in how AI and AT are being regulated requires a good grasp of the hard and soft laws as well as an appreciation of government policies and regulators’ enforcement strategies are imperative. It covers both theoretical and applied knowledge in the regulation of AI and AT. The course takes an interdisciplinary approach combining law, regulatory studies and public policy.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Angus Young | alyoung@hku.hk | CCT 301 | By email |
1.4 Course Outline (for elective course)
| Please click on the link here for the course outline (HKU Portal login required). |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Describe and explain the key principles of AI and AT government policies, regulators’ strategies and hard/soft laws.
CLO 2 Critically analyse the regulatory (hard / soft laws) issues and ethical considerations arising from AI and AT.
CLO 3 Apply AI and AT regulatory and policies theoretical debates onto public policy makin process, drafting of legislative instruments, creation of governmental administrative measures and regulators’ enforcement strategies.
CLO 4 Evaluate the regulatory and public policy considerations arising from the application of AI and AT onto harm centred policy approach and risk-based regulations.
CLO 5 Demonstrate the ability transposing regulatory concepts, regulators’ strategies, and policies debates onto proposing new regulatory measures and advancing policy development in prevailing and forward-looking risks.
2.2 LLM and JD Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link:
LLM – https://course.law.hku.hk/llm-plo/
JD – https://course.law.hku.hk/jd-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 5 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Class participation | 10% | 3 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| Research essay | 40% | 3, 5 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| Take home exam | 50% | 3, 5 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
^ Students are required to pass the exam to be eligible to pass the course.
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
To be advised by course convenor(s). See also Course Outline above.
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Seminar: | 3 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unit is 25 ± 5 hours (ie. 150 ± 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
4.2 Details of Learning Activities
To be advised by course convenor(s).
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | TBA |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/