Tag: Science and Technology

Gray Advice

Artificial Intelligence, Current Volume, Data Analytics, Featured Articles, Health & Biotechnology, Machine Learning, Recent Publications, Science & Technology Leave a comment

By: Keith Porcaro Debates over economic protectionism or the technology flavor-of-the-month obscure a simple, urgent truth: people are going online to find help that they cannot get from legal and health professionals. They are being let down, by products with festering trust and quality issues, by regulators slow to apply consumer protection standards to harmful offerings, and by professionals loath to acknowledge changes to how help is delivered. The status quo cannot continue. Waves of capital and code are empowering ever more organizations to build digital products that blur the line between self-help and professional advice. For good or ill, “gray advice” is changing how ordinary people get help with legal issues and healthcare issues, and even how they perceive professionals. This Article begins the work of articulating what makes a high-quality digital advice product, and how regulators and professionals can engage with the reality of how people seek and find help today. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 25 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 48

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AI & Marginalized Communities Symposium

DLTR Blog, Scholar Interviews Leave a comment

By Joshua Angelo Last month, Duke Law’s Center on Law, Race & Policy hosted numerous scholars and experts for its AI & Marginalized Groups Symposium. I had the pleasure of attending both the Symposium’s Lunch Keynote and its Criminal Justice panel. In the Lunch Keynote, Dr. Charlton McIlwain discussed his concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on marginalized communities. In the Criminal Justice panel, numerous experts, including Duke’s own Professor Brandon Garrett, explored AI’s often concerning implications for law enforcement and criminal justice. Lunch Keynote: Dr. Charlton McIlwain is the Vice Provost for Faculty Engagement and Development at New York University, as well as a Professor of Media, Culture, and Communications, and Founder of the Critical Race and Digital Studies Program. Dr. McIlwain began his presentation by noting that he approaches matters both as a historian and as a social scientist, with each perspective informing his viewpoint regarding technology. The presentation then turned to Dr. McIlwain’s concerns about AI, beginning with the prospect of algorithmic discrimination. Dr. McIlwain first discussed the targeted advertising of predatory mortgage loans to Black and Hispanic individuals, a practice known as “reverse redlining.” He noted the role that digital advertising can play in facilitating

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Decoding Cryptocurrency Taxes: The Challenges for Estate Planners

Cryptocurrency, eCommerce, Science & Technology, Technology and Financial Reporting Leave a comment

By: Max Angel In this article, Angel explores the unique challenges of estate planning with cryptocurrency, which include accurately valuing those assets, preserving their value, and addressing the complex tax implications of transferring cryptocurrency to heirs. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 23 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 137

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Beyond Patents: Incentive Strategies for Ocean Plastic Remediation Technologies

Intellectual Property, Patents & Technology, Science & Technology One comment

By: Jacob Stotser With a garbage truck’s worth of plastic being dumped in the ocean each minute, there is a dire need for effective technological solutions aimed at mitigating the marine plastic pollution problem. However, the reliance of the U.S. patent system on market demand to incentivize this type of innovation has proven insufficient in light of the peculiarities of “green” technologies. To remedy this, this article proposes a multi-faceted incentivization approach that looks beyond the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to stimulate the development of remediation technologies through comprehensive regulatory interventions, the establishment of prize funds and other alternative incentive mechanisms, and targeted reforms to patent procedures. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 23 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 114

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Barcoding Bodies: RFID Technology and the Perils of E-Carceration

Science & Technology One comment

By: Jackson Samples Electronic surveillance now plays a central role in the criminal legal system. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people are tracked by ankle monitors and smartphone technology. And frighteningly, commentators and policymakers have now proposed implanting radio frequency identification (“RFID”) chips into people’s bodies for surveillance purposes. This Note examines the unique risks of these proposals—particularly with respect to people on probation and parole—and argues that RFID implants would constitute a systematic violation of individual privacy and bodily integrity. As a result, they would also violate the Fourth Amendment. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 23 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 89

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The Lack of Responsibility of Higher Education Institutions in Addressing Phishing Emails and Data Breaches

Cybersecurity, Data Governance, Notes, Science & Technology Leave a comment

By: Muxuan (Muriel) Wang Higher education institutions (HEIs) are highly susceptible to cyberattacks, particularly those facilitated through phishing, due to the substantial volume of confidential student and staff data and valuable research information they hold. Despite federal legislations focusing on bolstering cybersecurity for critical institutions handling medical and financial data, HEIs have not received similar attention. This Note examines the minimal obligations imposed on HEIs by existing federal and state statutes concerning data breaches, the absence of requirements for HEIs to educate employees and students about phishing attacks, and potential strategies to improve student protection against data breaches. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 23 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 35

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Next-Generation Data Governance

Data Governance, eCommerce, Science & Technology Leave a comment

By: Kimberly A. Houser & John W. Bagby The proliferation of sensors, electronic payments, click-stream data, location-tracking, biometric feeds, and smart home devices, creates an incredibly profitable market for both personal and non-personal data. It is also leading to an amplification of harm to those from or about whom the data is collected. Because federal law provides inadequate protection for data subjects, there are growing calls for organizations to implement data governance solutions. Unfortunately, in the U.S., the concept of data governance has not progressed beyond the management and monetization of data. Many organizations operate under an outdated paradigm which fails to consider the impact of data use on data subjects due to the proliferation of third-party service providers hawking their “check-the-box” data governance systems. As a result, American companies suffer from a lack of trust and are hindered in their international operations due to the higher data protection requirements of foreign regulators. After discussing the pitfalls of the traditional view of data governance and the limitations of suggested models, we propose a set of ten principles based on the Medical Code of Ethics. This framework, first encompassed in the Hippocratic Oath, has been evolving for over one thousand years

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Forensic Evidence and Rule 3.8: What Does the Use of Bite Mark Evidence Tell Us About Prosecutorial Ethics?

eDiscovery, Science & Technology Leave a comment

By: Brendan Clemente Rule 3.8 of the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct should include rules that specifically address unethical uses of forensic evidence in criminal prosecutions. Forensic evidence is common in criminal trials. But the traditional rules of ethics do not effectively address the use of forensic evidence. Rule 3.8 should include a rule requiring prompt and full disclosure of information about expert witnesses whom the prosecutor plans to call and all relevant information that the prosecutor knows about a forensic method’s application in the case. Rule 3.8 should also include a requirement that the prosecutor use reasonable diligence to learn about a forensic method and possess a good faith belief that the method’s application in the case will be reliable before introducing the evidence at trial. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 22 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 1

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Professor Brandon Garrett on Exposing the Flaws in Forensics

DLTR Blog, Scholar Interviews Leave a comment

By Brendan Clemente This past March, Duke Law’s Professor Brandon Garrett released his newest book, Autopsy of a Crime Lab: Exposing the Flaws in Forensics. Professor Garrett founded the Wilson Center for Science and Justice and studies the use of forensic evidence in criminal cases. Brendan Clemente, Duke Law & Technology Review’s (DLTR) Managing Editor, sat down with Professor Garrett to discuss the book. Thank you for joining DLTR to discuss your new book, Autopsy of a Crime Lab: Exposing the Flaws in Forensics. What made you want to delve into this topic in this book? My introduction to forensics came after law school. I took evidence in law school, for which I am glad now that I am now teaching it. We did not cover expert evidence. I did not take law and science classes, and I went to law school having turned away from math and science, like most of us lawyers do. When I was in practice, I worked at a civil rights firm where there were two types of cases one could gravitate toward: police brutality cases and wrongful conviction cases. I told the partners I wanted to work on the police brutality cases. The wrongful

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Food for Thought: Intellectual Property Protection for Recipes and Food Designs

Copyrights & Trademarks, Intellectual Property, Uncategorized 5 comments

By: Kurt M. Saunders and Valerie Flugge As any chef will tell you, cooking and food preparation is a creative, sometimes innovative, endeavor. Much thought and time is invested in selecting ingredients, developing the process for preparing the dish, and designing an interesting or appealing look and feel for a food item. If this is true, then it should come as no surprise that recipes, food designs, and other culinary creations can be protected by various forms of intellectual property, namely: trade secrets, design and utility patents, trade dress, but usually not copyright. This article considers how intellectual property law has been applied to protect recipes and food designs, along with broader issues relating to how these rights may overlap and their implications for competition. Download Full Article (PDF) Cite: 19 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 159

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