April 15, 2024

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MILWAUKEE — Eric Goldman, professor of law and co-director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University, will deliver Marquette University Law School’s annual Nies Lecture on Intellectual Property on Tuesday, April 16, at 5 p.m. in the Lubar Center at Eckstein Hall, 1215 W. Michigan St.

Goldman’s lecture, “Generative AI Is Doomed,” will compare today’s proliferation of generative AI with the internet’s commercialization in the mid-1990s. In each case, it was clear that the technology would have revolutionary but uncertain impacts on society. Yet the public sentiments toward the innovations have differed radically. The internet arrived during a period of widespread techno-optimism, creating a regulatory environment that fostered the internet’s growth. Generative AI, in contrast, has arrived during widespread techno-pessimism and following decades of conditioning about the dangers of “AI.” The difference is consequential: The prevailing regulatory and legal responses to generative AI will limit or even negate its benefits. If society hopes to achieve the full potential of generative AI, we’ll need quickly to adopt a new regulatory approach.

Goldman also serves as associate dean for research at Santa Clara’s law school. He received his degrees from UCLA: a B.A., summa cum laude, in 1988 and a J.D. and M.B.A. in 1994. He practiced law for eight years in Silicon Valley, first as an internet and technology transactions attorney at Cooley Godward LLP and then as general counsel of Epinions, Inc. From 2002 to 2006, before joining Santa Clara, Goldman served as assistant professor of law at Marquette.

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About Kevin Conway

Kevin is the associate director for university communication in the Office of University Relations. Contact Kevin at (414) 288-4745 or kevin.m.conway@marquette.edu.