CONTENT: In the last ten years legal professions have been deeply affected by digitalization. First new computational techniques, such as machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP), are extensively transforming the way lawyers, courts, and legislatures work. Legal practitioners like lawyers and judges are making the more and more use of legal tech tools; legislatures are given the chance to draft algorithmic rules by transforming them into code that computers may read and execute; legal scholars use computational tools to extract information from huge corpora of legal texts and incorporate it into traditional doctrinal studies; the judiciary is also employing AI-based tools to help their case searches and support their decisions. Second, digital markets have rapidly transformed from a platform to an economy populated with few big ecosystems. That made the need for new rules emerge that are targeted at ensuring fairness and contestability as well as trustworthiness in digital landscapes. As a result, the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA) were adopted that represent a breakthrough piece of legislation, akin to become a blueprint for other jurisdictions. This course aims at providing an advanced understanding of the major theoretical and practical challenges raised by the use of computational tools in different legal professions, as well as an up-to-date overview of how the EU's policy and regulation of digital technologies, algorithms and AI. Third, a focus on how technologies like the web 4.0 and Extended Reality are disrupting traditional legal notions is provided, that centers around NFTs and the Metaverse. The course engages these issues from a comparative approach, covering both the EU and the U.S. scenario. During the course, students will be asked to work in groups to exercise their writing and analytical skills, as well as to present and advocate their position before their peers. This in-class presentation is meant to exercise their rhetorical and communications skills. Overall, the course encourages students in open discussion and active participation at any session.

By the end of the course, acquired knowledge and skills will enable students to better understand how the rise of digital technologies are shaping different fields of law and how digital platforms are being regulated.

The course is composed of three Modules. Module 1 (w 1-3) is methodological and introduces to the impact of digital technologies on legal professions. Specifically, this module investigates the use of AI and computational tools by lawyers (legal tech), the judiciary, and legislature (algorithmic rules). Module 2 (w 4-8) focuses on two major EU reforms of digital platforms’ regulation, namely: the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA). It will also provide examples on how algorithmic tools can enhance information duties by addressing topics such as Dark patterns. Module 3 (w 9-13) consists of a Seminar on "Legal issues of the Metaverse ". Together with external speakers, we will try to figure out the future of the virtual world.

All teaching materials are available on the Luiss Learn platform from the course’s outset. Readings are either uploaded as pdf files or referred to through links to the Luiss electronic Library or external sources.

Lectures, seminars, in-class discussion with students, based on previous reading of the teaching materials. In-class discussion of teaching materials suggesting opposing views on the same issue will also be made to stimulate the discussion and favor autonomous critical thinking.

Attending students: - attendance (20%) - in-class presentation (50%), - in class active participation (10%) - final written exam (20%) Non-attending students: written exam (100%). The program consists of all compulsory readings for Modules 1 and 2.

Relevance of the topic proposed.