Industry Consensus Standards as Soft Law to Deploy Automated Driving Systems

In this paper, the researchers examine automated driving systems (ADS), key factors affecting the industry, review the current state of automotive regulation in the United States, and then consider both hard and soft law solutions, ultimately concluding that using soft law makes the most sense at this time.  The limits of industry consensus standards are considered, and the authors also make recommendations to regulators, industry and academia.

Helen A. F. Gould and Jeffrey K. Gurney

Cooperative Control: Autonomous Vehicles, Safety, & Soft Law Regulatory Regimes

In this paper, Professor Pearl proposes a new approach to the regulation of the autonomous vehicle market in allowing the industry to use its deep expertise to develop concrete industry standards, and uses as an instructive example the case of industry self-regulation in the amusement industry with respect to fixed rides, citing the strong industry incentive to pursue safety.

Tracy Hresko Pearl

University of Oklahoma, College of Law

Soft Law Functions in the International Governance of AI

In this paper, the researchers offer an overview of soft law functions in the context of international AI governance and propose the establishment of a global AI governance mechanism to fulfill AI soft law functions that have not been picked up by existing institutions.

Wendell Wallach, Anka Reuel, Anja Kaspersen

Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics

Artificial Intelligence, Medical Devices, & Soft Law Governance

In this paper, scholar Adam Thierer explores the intersection of artificial intelligence and healthcare and in particular, the unique governance challenges for areas such as drug discovery and development and the potential of technology to revolutionize healthcare and the practice of medicine.

Adam Thierer

R Street Institute

Identifying Opportunities to Govern How Autonomous Vehicles Communicate

In this paper, the researchers examine automated driving systems (ADS), key factors affecting the industry, review the current state of automotive regulation in the United States, and then consider both hard and soft law solutions, ultimately concluding that using soft law makes the most sense at this time.  The limits of industry consensus standards are considered, and the authors also make recommendations to regulators, industry and academia.

Carlos I. Gutierrez

Future of Life Institute

Institutional Review Boards as Soft Governance Mechanisms of R&D

In this paper, researcher Toni Lorente explores the potential use of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) as a potential governance mechanism to help address the risks and challenges associated with AI-based medical products.

Antoni Lorente

King’s College London, UK

Merger & Acquisition Agreements for Neurotechnologies: Building Governance into Tech

In this paper, the researchers suggest the mechanism of potentially extracting soft law-like commitments through the merger & acquisition agreement process for startups operating in the brain-computer (BCI) interface space, given their prominent role in discussions around neurotechnology governance.

Lucille Nalbach Tournas, J.D., Walter G. Johnson, J.D., Bennett Houck

Arizona State University

Self-Regulation in the Cradle: The Role of Standards in Emerging Industries

There is a long history of self-regulation—governance of firm behavior by private entities—both in the United States and globally, but there has been less attention to the role of self-regulation in spurring and enabling innovation and growth within emerging industries. Through a detailed case study, we examine the attributes of self-regulation that seem to support innovation and scaling up of operations.  Read Now

Daniel Walters

Texas A&M University School of Law

Hannah Jacobs Wiseman

Penn State Law - University Park

No Perfect Solution for Market Imperfections

Both markets and government regulation are imperfect. Located between them is industry self-regulation, in which the industry is tasked with effectuating regulatory goals, which is also imperfect. Industry members, when called on to engage in self-regulation, will face what Austrian economists call the knowledge problem as well as a variety of public choice pressures. There are no perfect solutions so trade-offs must be weighed to obtain optimal outcomes. Read Now

Jeremy Kidd

Drake University Law School

Third-Party Standards and Sustainability Reporting: The Case of Minnesota Benefit Corporations

The appropriate boundary between public and private regulation has long been of interest to law and economics scholars. Especially relevant for understanding the private regulatory dynamics of the digital currency industry are the ways in which self-regulation has existed in financial markets. Read Now

David Lucas

Syracuse University

Corporate Governance and the Problem of Privileged Personal Knowledge: Toward a Theory of Decentralized Governance

This paper advances an epistemology-based argument for the decentralization of the (corporate) governance economic function drawn from a recent increase in decentralized approaches. However, while there is now evidence that it can work, a theoretical framework for explaining how they work or when and why they may be preferable to traditional governance practices has been lacking. Read Now

Mark Packard

Florida Atlantic University

Self-Regulation in Standard-Setting Organizations: Frand Royalties in the Process of Discovering Standards

Standard-setting organizations (SSOs) typically require their members to declare/disclose whether they hold or own SEPs, and to commit to licensing SEPs on FRAND terms. A main thesis of this article is that the meaning of a FRAND commitment is commonly understood by SSO members in the context of the particular standards and parties involved, and compliance is self-enforced through repeat dealing among SSO members. Read Now

Alexander Raskovich

Director of Research, Global Antitrust Institute
George Mason University - Antonin Scalia Law School

Digital Currency Industry Self-Regulation: Not All Consensus is Automatic

Sustainability reporting is an increasingly debated policy tool to facilitate accountability for businesses’ environmental and social impacts, particularly for hybrid ventures expressly pursuing both economic and social goals. The premise of this paper is that compliance in sustainability reporting is socially constructed, and that third-party organizations serve as legal intermediaries influencing how extensively hybrid ventures report their social impact. Read Now

Eric Alston

Scholar in Residence
University of Colorado Boulder