New Technologies and Regulation Conference by Waseda

Waseda University Brussels Office 4th International Conference on New Technologies and Regulation in Japan and Europe

Three crucial challenges currently shaping the wide-ranging EU-Japan Science and Technology Relations, notably its ongoing EU-Japan ICT dialogue, were selected for this 4th International conference: (1) the interplay between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Intellectual Property (IP); (2) the role of transparency and legal safeguards in ensuring the trust in governmental data collection practices; and (3) the cybersecurity implications of emerging technologies.
The first sessions - a scientific panel, a practitioners roundtable, and a keynote - was dedicated to the legal, regulatory, and commercial implications of the growing field of Artificial Intelligence on Intellectual Property, which are both central to some of the more heated contemporary legal discussions and academic debates. The interactions between AI and IP raises number of regulatory and technical challenges, some of which the Conference addressed from an interdisciplinary and an interregional perspective.

The second and third sessions explored some of the security implications of emerging technologies and data collection practices.
At first, the Conference delved into the challenges associated with governmental data collection in the aftermath of the COVID crises based on the idea that this trend reflects broader societal changes and is linked to the digitalization of social interactions. The panel discussed widely how trust in governments can vary across different national contexts, as well as whether increased transparency and legal safeguards help foster greater trust. 
The third and final scientific panel of the conference focused on how emerging technologies, including the internet of things, artificial intelligence, quantum computing or blockchain, impacted cybersecurity. These emerging technologies are opportunities, but also new challenges and threats. The members of the panel sought to unpack the societal implications of these rapidly developing technologies on the one hand, and the possibilities of regulating the risks and threats created by their misuse on the other.