Congratulations to Milan Wiertz, a fourth-year undergraduate student, who recently published an iteration of his term paper from INFO 303 Search Engines with Dr. Luanne Sinnamon in the European Policy Review. The article, titled “The Legal Perils of AI-Enabled Search Engines: How the integration of generative systems affects Search Engine obligations under EU Law,” explores the trendy topic of GenAI, specifically its integration with online search engines. Milan argues that this integration will lead to important legal ramifications for tech companies, as they will be faced with a range of additional legal and technical hurdles to comply with the EU’s digital rulebook.
Milan is currently majoring in Honours Political Science with International Relations and pursuing the Certificate in Data & Models in Political Science, as part of the UBC-Sciences Po Dual Degree. While he is not enrolled in the Minor in Informatics, his research and work in INFO 303 shows how the courses offered by the Minor in Informatics program can be applicable to a wide array of disciplines and research interests. We asked Milan a few questions on his experience in INFO 303, and the process of getting his paper published as an undergraduate student.
Why did you choose to take INFO 303? What’s something that you took away from the course?
I took INFO 303 as I am very interested in how society and technology interact, and I saw it as a great opportunity to learn more about these issues through the framework of Online Search, a technology which we use every day, but which also harbors a range of concerns in terms of privacy, content moderation and market concentration. What I appreciated the most about the course is that it delved into the exact mechanisms through which Search Engines function before discussing its sociopolitical impacts, allowing me to understand and reflect on how the technical manner in which these systems work affects how they interact with society, and with the law.
For your INFO 303 term paper which you ultimately published an iteration of, why did you choose to explore GenAI integration with search engines, specifically on questions of privacy, legality, and policy?
With how quickly GenAI has been developing in the public eye, particularly over the course of the term, it quickly became a key topic of discussion within the course, as Online Search was touted as one of the most promising and immediate applications for Large Language Models (LLMs) such as Open AI’s GPT, Meta’s Llama, Google’s Gemini and others. As a Political Science student, I was especially curious to reflect on how the use of such technology for Search applications would interact with policy in the digital domain, since such development would add significant complexity both in technical and legal terms.
What was the process of getting your paper published?
On Dr. Sinnamon’s recommendation, I searched for a publication that was thematically linked to my article and which could be interested in publishing it. I ultimately decided to submit the paper to the European Policy Review, whose theme for this year’s edition, An outlook to the future: Navigating emerging threats and challenges in Europe, closely aligned with my research. Once shortlisted, the article was evaluated by peer-reviewers, and I had the opportunity to implement changes where opportune based on their feedback. Overall, it was a really interesting process, and I am incredibly excited to have had the opportunity to see my paper being published.
