Date and time: Thursday 12 March 2026, 11:00-12:00 CET
Speaker: Dr Lachlan D. Urquhart, University of Edinburgh
Title: Accountable Design: Bringing Law into Human-Centred Computing
Where: ID:fFix, NOD building, Kista. The room can be found at the entrance hall OR Zoom
OR
Host: Chiara Rossitto <chiara@dsv.su.se>
Bio: Lachlan Urquhart is Senior Lecturer in Technology Law and Human-Computer Interaction, School of Law. He is Founder and Director of the Regulation and Design (RAD) Lab at the Institute of Design Informatics. He is a Director of the Centre for Research into Information, Surveillance, and Privacy (CRISP) and was Director of the Scottish Research Centre for Intellectual Property and Technology Law (SCRIPT) (2020-2025).
His main research interests are in the socio-technical aspects of designing, living with, and regulating emerging information technologies, particularly around sustainability, privacy and cybersecurity. He has a multidisciplinary background in computer science (PhD) and law (LL.B; LL.M) and has studied at the Universities of Edinburgh, Strathclyde, and Nottingham. He has published widely, including books Accountable Design: Bringing Law into Human Centred Computing (Cambridge University Press: 2026 – In Press) and Law, Policy and the Internet (with Lilian Edwards and Catalina Goanta) (Hart/Bloomsbury: 2026 – In Press) and over 70 articles in leading venues in human computer interaction, technology law, and computer ethics.
He has worked on a portfolio of large interdisciplinary projects totalling nearly £17m, including leading a £1.2m 2.5 year project on the right to repair for the internet of things and projects on designing responsible natural language processing, emotion and facial recognition in smart cities, smart home cybersecurity and designing trustworthy autonomous systems.
Abstract: In this talk, Dr Urquhart will be presenting insights from his upcoming interdisciplinary book, Accountable Design: Bringing Law into Human-Centred Computing (Cambridge University Press: 2026/In Press). The book presents Accountable Design as an approach for folding legal values into human centred design processes and applies this to design of AI enabled Internet of Things systems, which he terms Clever Computing.
The book examines how to design for values of privacy, security, trust, and safety through a series of case studies. These look at Clever Computing in domestic, urban, and biometric applications using empirical, design research, technology law, and HCI led approaches to understand the challenges and opportunities of designing for legal values. The book also presents design methods and a broader framework for doing Accountable Design. Elements of the work will be discussed during the talk.
