Scholars Programme Module 5: Technology and Policy
Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona | 17-21 February 2025
In a world where new technologies are rapidly changing how we live our lives, but advancing at such a rate that we do not fully understand them, how can we harness them to improve society for all? How do we balance the potential good they can bring with the potential harms to our rights and risk of bias in the algorithms? These questions were at the heart of our recent module at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona which focussed on various key areas in which technological innovation is reshaping the policy landscape.
- Public services
- Health
- Migration
- Art and Cultural policy
- Law and AI
- Sustainability
- DMA and EU regulation
- Personalised pricing
Our first discussion focussed on public services, with perspectives on how tech can transform the delivery of services (e.g. the digital Euro (Gilbert Fridgen) or digital twins for modelling policy (Michael Donaldson Carbón)) and some of the potential dangers (Herman van Harten). Throughout the week we had various discussions of the balance between privacy and individual rights on the one hand and the potential benefits that big data and AI and other technologies might bring on the other in areas such as personalised pricing. Jasmijn Slootjes, Natasha Saunders, and Craig Damian Smith discussed the implications for migration policy, particularly with respect to the logistics and ethics of border management and providing services to migrants. AI is increasingly being used in the legal sphere; the Scholars heard about this shift in the legal profession from the perspective of a lawyer, technician and a judge (Francesc Muñoz, Omar Puertas, and Judge José María Seijo).
We also discussed how AI has become engrained in various areas of medical practice, from early diagnosis of neurological diseases, to tracing the vectors of infectious diseases, to surgical instruments, and the potential impact of the AI Act (John Palmer, Ben Meany, Carla Zaldua Aguirre). The regulatory context was further explored in dialogue with Néstor Duch-Brown, who outlined the broader context of the EU’s evolving regulation of digital services and markets. The fast pace of change raises questions about how new technologies and the resources needed to support them fit alongside our ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Paula Hidalgo-Sanchis shared insights into projects that seek to use new tech to help implement sustainability policies and efforts to make the tech itself more sustainable. Two speakers asked what is the relationship between AI and human creativity? Eva Soria raised concerns about creative artists’ rights in the age of Leonardo AI while Lluís Nacenta shared ideas about how creative collaboration through tech might be possible.
Rounding off our focus on new technologies and policy-making, the Scholars visited CAPCIT the advisory board of the parliament of Catalonia for science and technology. Following a private tour of the Parliament and learning about the history of the building and the institution, we were welcomed by MP Judit Alcalá, before hearing about CAPCIT’s remit and international cooperation from Clara Marsan.
During the module we arranged a small event for alumni of the Scholars Programme. One of our alumni, Nil Barutel (UPF), presented the work of Riborquestra, which he directs. Riboquestra is a local organisation that aims to enhance community in Ciutat Vella through intergenerational musical and emotional education and to promote interculturality, solidarity, and social transformation through culture. Afterwards four generations of Scholars mingled over drinks and dinner and were joined by some of our speakers and friends at UPF.
Read UPF’s coverage of this module and their article about the two Scholars from UPF here.
As always, the Scholars worked hard on their policy projects. In their second year on the Programme, the Scholars are continually refining their projects: the questions they are asking are more targeted and they are talking to key experts and policy makers in the field to learn, among other things, both where they think there are examples of best practice and what they think is lacking.
