Law and Data Science Module 1

Functions of Law

Normative, Dispute Resolving, Supplementary, Instrumental

Normative

Sets Rules for Behavior, establishing Standards and Maintaining Order

Dispute-resolving

settles conflicts (e.g courts)

Supplementary

fills gaps where no agreements exist

Instrumental

tool for achieving social goals, protecting liberties and rights

Main Sources of Law

Treaties, Legislation, Case Law / Judicial Decisions, Customary Law

Treaties

bind states that have signed and ratified them

Legislation (incl. constitution)

Imposes legal norms on those within the jurisdiction

Case law / judicial decisions

Made by courts

Customary law

law that grows out of practice: behavior that people not only repeat, but also believe they

ought to follow.

Actors in Law

Legislators, Courts & Judges, Regulators, Companies & Developers, Civil Society & NGOs

Role of Legislators

Make the rules and define legal frameworks

Role of Courts & Judges

Interpret the law and solve disputes

Role of Regulators

Enforce compliance and issue guidance

Role of Companies & Developers

Apply the law in daily practice and innovation

Role of Civil Society & NGOs

Monitor, challenge, and advocate for public interests

Private Law

Branch of law that regulates interactions, agreements, and disputes between private entities—such as individuals, businesses, and organizations. It provides a framework for resolving non-criminal disagreements

Public Law

Branch of law that governs the relationship between the government and individuals, as well as the relationships between different government branches and institutions. It focuses on issues that affect society as a whole and ensures that state power is exercised legally, rationally, and fairly

Criminal Law

Body of law that defines conduct threatening or harmful to society and prescribes punishment for those offenses. It operates on the principle that crimes injure the public as a whole, so the government prosecutes offenders rather than leaving justice to private lawsuits

4 Modalities of Law

Law, Social Norms (community constraints), Market (economic incentives), Architecture (Physical or Digital Constraints)

Data Science Influences Law

Data science transforms how formal laws are drafted, predicted, and enforced (models to detect crime, make decisions)

Data Science Influences Markets

Data science optimizes market behavior and pricing structures through algorithmic control (trading, advertising, credit scoring)

Data Science Influences Social Norms

Data science alters public perception and peer pressure by engineering digital social spaces (echo chambers, cancel culture, reputation systems and ratings)

Data Science Influences Architecture

Data science makes digital code a self-enforcing, inescapable regulatory mechanism (AI filters, geofencing, smart contracts, biometric lockout)

Law Influences Data Science

Formal laws create the strict legal frameworks that determine what data scientists can legally collect, process, and build (GDPR, Data Scarcity, Auditing)

Markets Influence Data Science

Economic incentives and market competition drive the direction of data science research and the architecture of production models (optimization/cost tradeoff, monetization bias)

Social Norms Influence Data Science

Public expectations, ethical values, and cultural backlash heavily influence algorithmic design, training labels, and guardrails (social distrust of black box, gender and racial bias, reinforcement learning from human feedback to make LLMs refuse to generate text that harms society)

Architecture Influences Data Science

The underlying hardware, software ecosystems, and infrastructure dictate the technical limits of what data science can practically achieve