1.      Undertake the following steps:

        Choose a (digital) technology that interests you

o  To assist you, please see the non-exhaustive list provided below

        Identify any issues/challenges/risks/threats to society that your chosen technology poses;

        Identify the ways this digital technology is presently regulated

o  To undertake this part of the exercise, you must apply Lessigs four modalities, but can also rely on additional theories of regulation like Murrays theory of network communitarianism and Laidlaws gatekeeper theory, etc.

        Make a determination whether the regulatory framework for your chosen digital technology is efficient, sufficient, and working.

        If you think the law is too strict, make recommendations for how you would change the present regulatory strategy to enable the digital technology.

        If you conclude that your digital technology is under-regulated, present recommendations as how to constrain your technology through the further development of a further regulatory strategy.

        If you conclude that the present regulation is sufficient, undertake an exercise to identify any potential risks to the digital technology.

        Make a concluding statement as to why/how your regulatory framework will work better than the present.

Examples of digital technologies:

        Intelligent agents (Alexa, Siri), Recommender technology

        Delivery Drones, Personal Robots, Self-driving cars, Smart homes, Smart cities

        Virtual reality/Augmented Reality Wearables

        Algorithms and Machine-Learning Systems

        Facial Recognition Technology

        One class of items from the Internet of Things such as fitness wearables (like FitBit) or smart homes, smart toys, etc.)

3. Inform the course coordinator (m.r.leiser@law.leidenuniv.nl) who will need to approve the topic. Each will be approved on a first-come-first-served basis. If it is too similar to another students, I will advise you and you will need to choose a different one. When the topic is approved you can move on to the next step.

4. Thoroughly research the topic by looking for and reading information (articles, books, case law, laws, online information, news media). Make a plan for the paper (what goes in, what not; design a structure). You are strongly advised to follow the guidance in Step 1 above.

5. Write your paper. An academic paper is never perfect immediately (unless you are brilliant, but most of us unfortunately are not), so keep editing, deleting, rewriting, etc. Keep discussing the text within the group in order to fine-tune it until you think it cannot be improved. Ask a (near) native speaker to edit your text if you are uncertain about your written English. It does not need to be perfect, but it should be well enough (no big mistakes, clear sentences, logical reasoning) and readers should not have to think twice about what it is you are saying. Do not forget your references! The paper consists of maximum 2500 words, not including references. Students do not have to submit a bibliography if footnote properly.