#AcademicRunPlaylist - 6/5/25

Today I was playing catch up after teaching earlier this week, but I still fit in some talks for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was a rapid-fire talk by Daniel Solove on the best privacy books of the last 50 years at Computers, Privacy and Data Protection (CPDP) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goCKzp_ZfWw

Next was an intriguing talk by Marco Botta and Niccolò Galli on private enforcement of the DMA at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnN06HdiFiI

Next was a fantastic talk by Daniel Solove on privacy and technology through history and today at CPDP. Solove has given talks on this topic before, but IMO this version is the best, combining historical perspective with philosophical and practical clarity. Highly recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf9Mq99JQbs

Next was an incredible conversation with Brian Highsmith on the history and law behind company towns on the Shareholder Primacy podcast. Highsmith lays out a clear definition of company towns, identifying legal trends through the past and present. Highly recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qCjFnaCY20

Next was an excellent panel on regulating AI with Kristina Irion, Anna-Julia Saiger, Rachael Olaitan Aborishade (Dawha), Emma Semaan, and Maria-Lucia Rebrean at CPDP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0LeBjF9nhA

Next was a timely/depressing review of the latest labor related news at The Burnes Center for Social Change with Seth Harris, McKenna Schueler, Bill Samuel, and Ruben J. Garcia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-9yET071iA

Next was an engaging panel on researcher access in the DSA with Brandi Geurkink, Mathias Vermeulen, LK Seiling, Kirsty Park, and Paddy Leerssen at CPDP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu6SMafb-hM

Next was a compelling talk by Jonathan Haskel on modeling the impact of generative AI on productivity at the Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy & Finance. While I wasn't sold on the model itself, the historical framing was clarifying https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78q6uGZYwC4

Next was a nice panel on the effectiveness of DPAs and certification systems in driving compliance with Charles Raab, Colin Bennett, Marit Hansen, and Sébastien Ziegler at CPDP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoNkDNXSKBE

Next was an important panel on work-related psychosocial risks in the EU with Stavroula Leka, Aditya Jain, and Xabier Irastorza at the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) https://youtu.be/EABDbyLYemg?si=l60R7vOhdLjlU2mS&t=2208

Next was a great panel on effective remedies for AI-induced harms with Laura Lázaro Cabrera, Rocco Saverino, Maria Magierska, Thomas Zerdick, and Itxaso Domínguez de Olazábal. at CPDP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDtFesu1Lto

Last was "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton. For all of the attention paid to the inarguable benefits to humanity of the industrial revolution, histories of its necessary predecessor - scientific revolution - are few and far between. Wootton expands that canon with a masterful, deeply read history, digging into obscure texts to trace changes in language use and the diffusion of ideas. The core hypothesis here is provocative but by the end of the book extremely convincing - that the "discovery" of the Americas in the late 15th century (from the European perspective, obviously) destroyed the belief system that had preceded it. This system shockingly had no word for "discovery" or "fact," which had to be invented across European countries to account for disorienting new, indisputable truths.

There's so much more here, and importantly Wootton is upfront about the limitations of his research and possible alternative explanations. There's a lot of inside baseball discussion of the appropriate way to analyze history, which I loved but your mileage will vary. Highly recommend https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-invention-of-science-david-wootton