The AI Act’s Research Exemption: A Mechanism for Regulatory Arbitrage?

Description

Presentation by Liane Colonna, Associate Professor, Department of Law, Stockholm University

Abstract: In this seminar, Liane Colonna will present her forthcoming paper in the Yearbook of Socio-Economic Constitutions entitled “The AI Act’s Research Exemption: A Mechanism for Regulatory Arbitrage?”

This paper argues that by failing to acknowledge the complexity of modern research practices that are shifting from a single discipline to multiple disciplines involving many entities, some public, some private, the proposed AI Act creates mechanisms for regulatory arbitrage.

The article begins with a semantic analysis of the concept of research from a legal perspective. It then explains how the proposed AI Act addresses the concept of research by examining the research exemption that is set forward in the forthcoming law as it currently exists.

After providing an overview of the proposed law, the paper explores the research exemption from five different perspectives to highlight whether there are any gaps, ambiguities, or contradictions in the law that may be exploited by either public or private actors seeking to use the exemption as a shield to avoid compliance with duties imposed under the law.

Q&A and discussion