The Holberg Masterclass, 2018 with Cass Sunstein: "What to do about Human Error"

Holberg Prize Talks

For the Holberg Masterclass on June 4, 2018, The Holberg Prize invited six Nordic PhD candidates to discuss the topic "What to do about Human Error" with 2018 Holberg Laureate Cass Sunstein. The event took place at the University of Bergen, Norway. What to Do About Human Error. In recent decades, we have learned a great deal about human error. For example, people tend to focus on the present rather than the future; to be unrealistically optimistic; to make mistakes in assessing risks; to be overconfident; and to pay attention to only a subset of the considerations before them. Obesity is one result; another is premature death. A large question, for societies and individuals alike, is what to do about human error. What interventions, from the private or public sector, would work best? When is coercion justified? When is liberty the solution? What about education? What is the role of machine learning and algorithms? About Cass Sunstein Professor Cass Sunstein is currently Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard University. He is widely regarded as the leading scholar of administrative law in the U.S. and his scholarship spans several major areas, notably behavioral economics and public policy, constitutional law and democratic theory, legal theory and jurisprudence, and the regulation of risk. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, where he helped oversee a wide range of reforms involving safety, air quality, civil rights, open government, climate change, economic opportunity, health, and reduction of poverty. He is the founder and Director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. The PhD candidates are: Max Carlin, Lund University – Public Law Esmaralda Colombo, University of Bergen – Climate Law Matthijs Maas, University of Copenhagen – Law Valgerdur Solnes, University of Iceland; University of Copenhagen – Law. Aksel Braanen Sterri, University of Oslo – Philosophy. Jarno Olavi Touminen, University of Turku – Psychology.