While much of the discourse about generative AI relates to copyright, Patrick K. Lin refocuses the conversation on other ethical considerations, particularly bias, data collection, and environmental harm in this colloquium. Generative AI’s racial, gender, cultural, and ideological biases are well documented and the byproduct of its training data. The technology also relies on the operation of data centers around the globe, which consume an ever increasing amount of water and energy.
This Art Law Colloquium began with a brief overview of generative AI and discussed the systemic and individual costs of generating images or videos. The session explored how these costs and ethical considerations may affect artists and creatives, and what users of this technology should keep in mind if they prompt it to output an image or video. Patrick also shared his thoughts on the laws and policies different jurisdictions have enacted in an effort to establish much needed guardrails. Through this session Patrick helped shed light on the seemingly invisible costs of generative AI and encouraged people to think twice before engaging with these tools.
About the Speaker
Patrick K. Lin is a clinical teaching fellow at NYU School of Law, where he teaches and supervises the Technology Law & Policy Clinic and the Science, Health & Information Clinic. He is also the author of Machine See, Machine Do, a book about how institutions use technology to surveil, police, and make decisions about the public, as well as the historical biases that impact that technology. His research interests include privacy, copyright, consumer protection, and the intersection of technology and civil rights, particularly surveillance and speech.
Patrick has extensive experience in litigation and policy advocacy, having worked for the ACLU, FTC, EFF, and other organizations that advocate for digital rights and civil rights. Previously, he was the Judith Bresler Fellow at the Center for Art Law and a Technology & Human Rights Fellow at the Harvard Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights Policy. Before joining NYU Law, Patrick clerked for a district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
