COLB12-110: Trust, Privacy, Law and Ethics in the Digital Age

Emergent digital processes and virtual spaces create new business and governance opportunities and risks. This subject introduces a range of challenges related to trust, privacy, ethics and governance, which arise from digitally-mediated practices. Using a case-based approach, students will analyse significant controversies from a range of disciplines. Topics to be canvassed may evolve as the technological landscape develops and, in light of what is topical at any given time, may include the legal and ethical issues surrounding such matters as: data privacy, and the collection, processing and use of personal data; the protection of intellectual property rights in areas such as computer programs, new inventions and designs through patent, copyright, and design protection; cybersecurity and cybercrime; issues surrounding the rise of algorithms, including through blockchain/distributed ledger technology; the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning; and the potential liability of social networks over the spread of sensitive or inaccurate information. This subject prepares students not just to understand the ramifications of an organisations’ digital practices, but more broadly to assist organisations in producing strategies and solutions for effective economic, political, and social processes.