Three researchers from eLaw - Centre for Law and Digital Technologies, were significantly involved in the ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT), held in Athens from June 25 to 27. Francien Dechesne, Gianclaudio Malgieri and Maria-Lucia Rebrean were respectively involved in the Doctoral Consortium and in the presentation of two papers. The ACM FAccT conference is one of the world's leading venues for interdisciplinary research on responsible and ethical AI.
The first paper, "Vulnerability in the AI Act: Building an Interpretation", co-authored by Maria-Lucia Rebrean (doctoral researcher at eLaw) and Gianclaudio Malgieri (Associate Professor at eLaw), was presented in person by Maria-Lucia Rebrean on Wednesday, 25 June. The paper critically examines the fragmented and ambiguous references to "vulnerability" in the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. Drawing on vulnerability theory, the authors propose a multi-layered interpretative framework to better integrate the concept of vulnerability into the AI Act's risk classification and regulatory safeguards. The proposed interpretation is particularly important as it may guide the application of the AI Act's prohibitions, the requirements applied to high-risk AI systems and the regulation's enforcement.
The second paper, "Scalable Fairness: The Legal Tool Against Power", authored by Gianclaudio Malgieri, was presented virtually on Thursday, 26 June at 10:00 AM. The paper puts forward a novel theory of "scalable fairness," arguing that fairness in digital regulation should be directly proportional to power asymmetries. It conceptualises fairness not as a mere procedural requirement, but as a structural legal principle to rebalance the dominant role of large private actors who act as gatekeepers to individuals' fundamental rights in the digital sphere.
Francien Dechesne participated in the Doctoral Consortium as one of the senior mentors, to engage with graduate students on navigating specific challenges around dissertation research and career objectives in the interdisciplinary landscape of FAccT.
Visit the website of ACM FAccT
