The automation era, driven by the increasing deployment of Artificial Intelligence, has redefined the exercise, enforcement, and meaning of fundamental rights. As AI-driven decision-making, predictive analytics, and platform governance reshape societal structures, individuals increasingly face asymmetrical power relations vis-à-vis both public institutions and private corporations. These transformations call for a new constitutional language, one capable of addressing the challenges posed by AI, while ensuring that rights remain enforceable and accessible.
To address these pressing challenges, the RULES Research Unit at Bocconi University, within the framework of the DIGCON Project (Digital Constitutionalism: Rights, Remedies, and Policy in the Algorithmic Society), invites submissions for the upcoming conference on “Rights, Powers, and Remedies in the Automation Era”, to be held on 30-31 October 2025 in Milan.
This conference aims to explore the evolving ecosystem of rights, powers and remedies in the digital age. Primarily, the event will address:
- How automation is redefining the nature of rights and accountability;
- The effectiveness of current enforcement mechanisms in the digital landscape;
- The role of procedural safeguards in ensuring fairness, transparency, and due process;
- The need for novel regulatory and constitutional frameworks adapted to AI governance.
Bringing together legal scholars, social scientists, technologists, and policymakers, this conference will lay the groundwork for a sustained dialogue on how fundamental rights must evolve in response to technological transformations. The conference aims to host comparative, theoretical, doctrinal, and empirical perspectives.
Conference themes
Scholars at all career stages and from all jurisdictions are invited to submit proposals on the following (non-exhaustive) list of topics:
Cluster 1: Automation and Fundamental Rights
- How automation challenges privacy, non-discrimination, and freedom of expression
- The scope of fundamental rights in the age of automation
- AI’s role in governing human behavior: regulation or algorithmic paternalism?
Cluster 2: Enforcement, Remedies and Automation
- Rethinking judicial and non-judicial remedies in algorithmic environments
- Transparency, explainability, and the right to challenge automated decisions
- The role of AI auditors, oversight boards, and alternative dispute resolution
Cluster 3: Governing Private Power and AI Accountability
- Constitutional challenges posed by platform governance and content moderation
- The legal responsibility of AI developers, digital platforms, and regulators
- State intervention vs. self-regulation: who should enforce AI fairness and accountability?
Cluster 4: The Consolidation of Digital Constitutionalism
- Should we establish a Digital Charter to address rights and remedies in AI governance?
- Comparative insights: constitutional adaptation in response to AI’s challenges
- Digital sovereignty and new paradigms for transnational regulation
Submission guidelines
Interested participants are invited to submit abstracts (500 words), outlining the research question, methodology, and expected contributions. The deadline for abstract submission is 30 April 2025.
How to Submit
Abstracts must be submitted in word or pdf format, including title, author(s), institutional affiliation, and contact details, through this FORM
Selection and Notification
The organizing committee will review all submissions and notify successful applicants by 15 May 2025. Selected participants will be invited to submit their full papers by 30 September and present their works in person at the conference.
For any detail, please consult the call for papers: call for papers.
📅 Submission Deadlines:
-
Abstract Submission: 30 April 2025
-
Notification of Acceptance: 15 May 2025
-
Full Paper Submission: 30 September 2025
🔗 Submit your abstract here: Submission Form
