The end of the year, the end of one administration and the beginning of another, presents a time to consider what’s important and to set priorities. In the areas in which high-tech issues and the law intersect, there is much to do. Below, I set forth some of the top issues on the horizon:

We need a national set of standards for ethical AI. AI is used by companies and governmental entities every day to make decisions that matter: It is used to make decisions that we generally regard as requiring human discretion and judgment. For instance, AI is used throughout the medical system to model the progress of disease, the likelihood of necessary medical procedures, the likelihood of life or death, and the allocation of resources. Very soon, once again, it may be modelling advisability of allocating an ICU bed to one person versus another. It is used to model to whom the newest COVID vaccines can and should be distributed and how to transport it there.