It has always been my goal to learn how to code. Ideally, I would be able to create my own website with all the functions I need for this blog. This is why I chose to obtain a free online course at HarvardX which is especially designed for lawyers and law students. It gives an introduction to computer science. Eventually, I will get an understanding of all the buzzwords flying around and find out if they sound more important than they actually are 😉
When speaking of computer science, I have observed so far that many politicians are reluctant to such topics because they grew up in times without computers, tablets, or phones. However, many human rights risks stem from the internet such as hate speech or the use of personal data by private companies for advertisement. Human rights risk may as well stem from limited access to the internet or censorship through states. Fake news may influence elections and pose a risk to democracies. We need smart laws and policies in place in order to ensure that human rights are respected in the internet.
The course is composed of ten lectures and associated assignments, covering these topics:
- Computational Thinking,
- Programming Languages,
- Algorithms, Data Structures,
- Cryptography,
- Cybersecurity,
- Internet Technologies, Cloud Computing,
- Web Development,
- Database Design,
- Cybersecurity, continued, and
- Challenges at the Intersection of Law and Technology.
I learned so far that computers “communicate” solely in zeros and ones. It is called binary code. For example, 01000111110000 may signify “hi”. Every bit of information is represented in a code, even a picture by pixels. Interesting, right?
If you want to learn more, here is a link to the course on the online learning platform edX: https://www.edx.org/course/cs50-for-lawyers
Photograph:
- Refik Anadol, Machine Hallucinations – Nature Dreams Centre Pompidou-Metz, France, 2022
- Une installation de Refik Anadol et Refik Anadol Studio (RAS)
- MABU Collection / mabu.eth
humanitytrail 