Who are you?
My name is Saar Hoek. Before arriving here, I received a bachelor degree in Law from the UvA, back when we were still at the Oudemanhuispoort. Afterward, I completed a masters degree in European Intellectual Property Law at Stockholms Universitet in Sweden. Due to my interest in novel technology and the ethical implementation of it in society, I decided to then pursue a masters degree in Artificial Intelligence at the Universiteit Utrecht, for which I’m currently finishing a thesis about the implementation of- and legal requirements for explainability in black-box algorithms.

What are you going to do here?
I began my PhD at the Law Centre for Health and Life in April. My research topic is the impact of the implementation of AI on the professional autonomy of the physician, viewed from both a legal and a (bio-)ethical angle. This is a very exciting topic to me, as it combines many of my research interests, such as legal ethics and the impact of novel technology. Additionally, with cooperation of the AMC, I have the opportunity to incorporate two case studies of the technology – and the law! – in practice.

What do you do to unwind?
Unoriginally for someone working in health law, I really like (and need) activity, the type of exercise changes, though. I also enjoy all things cultural that Amsterdam has to offer, such as museums, concerts, events and cinema. At home I like to paint and to read.