BJ Ard

The prior chapter introduced our methodology for resolving techlaw uncertainties; Chapter 2 delineates what techlaw uncertainties actually are. In brief, they many manifest as application uncertainties, normative uncertainties, and institutional uncertainties.

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

And thank you, as a colleague who offered generous insights early in the project!

As many know, @bjard.bsky.social and I have been drafting a Technology Law coursebook for a few years. We've used it to teach classes at three institutions, including Yale Law School, and others have used chapters in their techlaw classes.

We're excited to share the current version more broadly!

Grounding the discussion, the article also includes an illustrated primer on how developers train models for generative art systems. Particular focus goes to mapping image concepts to a “latent space.” More at ssrn.com/abstract=463....

Thank you to all who provided feedback on prior drafts!

Even accepting generative art harms many artists, denying fair use cannot halt it. Already, developers train models on licensed works and social media platforms ingest user data with impunity via boilerplate terms of service. Securing the future of art requires legal tools beyond copyright.

Third, I published Copyright’s Latent Space this summer in Cornell L. Rev. Fair use can’t solve the problems of generative art. But probing the limits of fair use illustrates copyright's treatment of authorial value, copyright’s structural limits, and platforms’ privileged access to user data.

We’ll release new chapters biweekly with updates to our front matter and table of contents at docs.google.com/document/d/1....

Chapter 1 introduces our "techlaw uncertainties" approach at
docs.google.com/document/d/1....

We welcome your feedback!

Second, I’m thrilled to share the first excerpts of the Technology Law coursebook I’m co-authoring with @crootof.bsky.social. We’ve built these materials across courses at three institutions, beginning with the seminar we taught with @jackbalkin.bsky.social at Yale Law School in 2016.

Hi friends! As the new academic year begins, I have three announcements to share:

First, I’m honored to begin as Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development at @law.wisc.edu. I look forward to supporting our world-class faculty as we engage with the world's most legal pressing challenges.

Let me know if you want company on the Nightlords. I’ve put in more hours than I’m ready to admit