This book discusses the necessity and perhaps urgency for the regulation of algorithms on which new technologies rely; technologies that have the potential to re-shape human societies. From commerce and farming to medical care and education, it is difficult to find any aspect of our lives that will not be affected by these emerging technologies. At the same time, artificial intelligence, deep learning, machine learning, cognitive computing, blockchain, virtual reality and augmented reality, belong to the fields most likely to affect law and, in particular, administrative law. The book examines universally applicable patterns in administrative decisions and judicial rulings. First, similarities and divergence in behavior among the different cases are identified by analyzing parameters ranging from geographical location and administrative decisions to judicial reasoning and legal basis. As it turns out, in several of the cases presented, sources of general law, such as competition or labor law, are invoked as a legal basis, due to the lack of current specialized legislation. This book also investigates the role and significance of national and indeed supranational regulatory bodies for advanced algorithms and considers ENISA, an EU agency that focuses on network and information security, as an interesting candidate for a European regulator of advanced algorithms. Lastly, it discusses the involvement of representative institutions in algorithmic regulation.

As financial companies have begun employing automated advisors aimed at helping customers manage their money, and oncologists have started using the artificial intelligence system known as Watson to identify new treatments, the prominent role that sophisticated computer programs have begun to occupy in our lives has become undeniable. Government agencies are also harnessing the powers of automation. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for example, are starting to use complex computer models that can predict environmental exposure to chemicals and drug interactions across patient groups. As agencies begin to enter this brave new world of automation, questions have begun to emerge about how government officials should delegate important tasks to machines. For one, will automation negatively affect the level and quality of human deliberation and dialogue that are integral to democratic governance? Furthermore, when adjudicating individual determinations, like the awarding of disability benefits, will machines prove incapable of providing much needed empathy to claimants?

As financial companies have begun employing automated advisors aimed at helping customers manage their money, and oncologists have started using the artificial intelligence system known as Watson to identify new treatments, the prominent role that sophisticated computer programs have begun to occupy in our lives has become undeniable. Government agencies are also harnessing the powers of automation. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for example, are starting to use complex computer models that can predict environmental exposure to chemicals and drug interactions across patient groups. As agencies begin to enter this brave new world of automation, questions have begun to emerge about how government officials should delegate important tasks to machines. For one, will automation negatively affect the level and quality of human deliberation and dialogue that are integral to democratic governance? Furthermore, when adjudicating individual determinations, like the awarding of disability benefits, will machines prove incapable of providing much needed empathy to claimants?