In recent years, the embodiment of AI in the form of a robot brings forth new challenges in privacy and transparency. A cognitive robot must be able to integrate multiple tasks in its performance that requires collecting a great amount of data and the use of various AI techniques. As robotics technology continues to advance, socially assistive humanoid robots will play a more central role in interacting with humans. However, can we trust robots in social contexts? How can we design embedded AI robots such that they are more transparent and trustworthy? and what technical, legal, and ethical frameworks might we adopt to build a trust relationship with robots? This chapter discusses these fundamental questions concerning privacy and transparency in human–robot interaction. It will then propose possible ethical and regulatory responses to address them.

With technological advancements occurring at a rapid pace in the field of computers, robotics, and artificial intelligence, major changes have taken place in the robotics industry. These changes have led to what some have termed the “robotics revolution” that has had a major impact on social organizations, the economy, and as discussed within this chapter, human rights for industry and service workers. The emergence of AI-enabled robotics has begun to change the world in major ways challenging the law within nation states and also internationally among nations. In that context, the use of intelligent service and industrial robots has broad applications for the large and small industries that use robots as a source of labor. For example, intelligent service robots are used in the fields of healthcare and medicine, transportation, and for care of the elderly and children. Further, police and security services also use robots for crowd control and for surveillance purposes. However, while developments in robotics have provided numerous benefits to society, they have also brought forth many issues that challenge social, moral, and professional norms within society. As a result, the ever-increasing growth and development of robotic technology in various industries is challenging current legal schemes in fundamental ways, one of which is human rights law. As an example, the use of industrial and service robots can lead to employment insecurity, threats to the health and safety of workers, and privacy concerns. Further, the use of robots in industry and for the delivery of services can be inconsistent with other human rights such as the right to health and safety, the right to equality of opportunity, the right to employment and fair working conditions, the right to life, the right to association, prohibition against discrimination, and equality, which are all supported in international and regional human rights documents.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is presented as a portal to more liberative realities, but its broad implications for society and certain groups in particular require more critical examination. This chapter takes a specifically Black theological perspective to consider the scepticism within Black communities around narrow applications of AI as well as the more speculative ideas about these technologies, for example general AI. Black theology’s perpetual push towards Black liberation, combined with womanism’s invitation to participate in processes that reconstitute Black quality of life, have perfectly situated Black theological thought for discourse around artificial intelligence. Moreover, there are four particular categories where Black theologians and religious scholars have already broken ground and might be helpful to religious discourse concerning Blackness and AI. Those areas are: white supremacy, surveillance and policing, consciousness and God. This chapter encounters several scholars and perspectives within the field of Black theology and points to potential avenues for future theological areas of concern and exploration.

The usage of robots and artificial intelligence is expanding and changing every day. These exciting developments, especially in areas such as engineering, industry, education, and health, have begun to influence the legal world and have become the grounds for many important discussions on the future of law and technology. One of these debates is the question of whether robot judges can take part in a trial, which is the subject of this chapter. Although this problem was previously described as a “distant dream,” there are important examples of this issue on the way to becoming a reality today. Considering developments of AI-enabled and humanoid robots, the following question is posed: “Can robot judges replace human judges?” As a current example, in the “Internet Courts” in China, a robot judge looks like a humanoid robot in the image of a woman using a 3D image inspired by human judges. For this reason, it is important to consider the positive and negative aspects of the possible consequences of the development in the legal world of robot judges that is likely to be widespread in the future, to ensure that the law does not fall behind technological developments.

Chapter 7 highlights key concepts in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and compares it to traditional finance. It discusses major DeFi applications such as decentralized exchanges, lending/borrowing platforms, derivatives, prediction markets, and stablecoins. DeFi offers advantages, including open access, transparency, programmability, and composability. It enables peer-to-peer financial transactions without intermediaries, unlocking financial inclusion, efficiency gains, and innovation. However, risks such as smart contract vulnerabilities, price volatility, regulatory uncertainty, and lack of accountability persist. As DeFi matures, enhanced governance, security audits, regulation, and insurance will be vital to address these challenges. DeFi is poised to reshape finance if balanced with prudence. Important metrics to track growth include total value locked, trading volumes, active users, and loans outstanding. Research tools such as Dune Analytics, DeFi Llama, and DeFi Pulse provide data-driven insights. Overall, DeFi represents a profoundly transformative blockchain application, but responsible evolution is key. The chapter compares DeFi to traditional finance and analyzes major applications, benefits, risks, and metrics in this emerging field.

Chapter 1 provides an overview of the concepts and definitions inherent to Web3. It presents a deep exploration into the phenomenon of "Convergence of Convergence," a term coined to denote the convergence of various dimensions within Web3, such as technology, data, user interactions, business models, identity, and organizational structures. The chapter also offers a comparative study of Web3 from different perspectives – tracing its evolution in the Internet era, analyzing its implications for user experience, evaluating its regulatory aspects, and understanding its scalability. Each of these aspects is explored in a detailed, standalone section, allowing readers to comprehend the multifaceted nature of Web3. The overarching aim of this chapter is to foster a comprehensive understanding of Web3, delineating its significance as a major shift in the Internet paradigm and its potential for creating more decentralized, user-empowered digital ecosystems.

Chapter 12 is the conclusion. It presents a discussion of how the components of performance evaluation for learning algorithms discussed throughout the book unify into an overall framework for in-laboratory evaluation. This is followed by a discussion of how to move from a laboratory setting to a deployment setting based on the material covered in the last part of the book. We then discuss the potential social consequences of machine learning technology deployment together with their causes, and advocate for the consideration of these consequences as part of the evaluation framework. We follow this discussion with a few concluding remarks.