Automated Decisions

Wednesday, 13 November 2019, 2:15 – 6:00 pm

HWZ Hochschule für Wirtschaft Zurich

Lagerstrasse 5, 8021 Zurich

Technological progress – especially in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning – leads to decisions being made automatically in more and more areas of daily life. Practical examples are data scoring in online commerce and in the insurance and credit sectors, but also automated decisions on the permission to enter a certain country, on job applications or on applications for deadline extension in tax proceedings. The rapid spread of such practices has raised concerns among experts.

However, legislators have not remained inactive: As far as personal data are concerned, Art. 22 of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) already contains a provision which attempts to take these concerns into account. Also the proposed draft for a revised Swiss Data Protection Act (DPA) contains a provision on automated decisions, the approach of which differs from that of the GDPR.

Whether these regulatory approaches (under data protection law) are convincing from a theoretical and practical point of view, however, has hardly been investigated to date. This event, which is jointly organised by SF-FS and the Center for Information Technology, Society, and Law (ITSL) of the University of Zurich, has set itself this goal.

The event will be held in German only.

Flyer (PDF, 242 KB)