Global Lecture Series: The EU AI Act in Practice

Liisa-Ly Pakosta

Liisa-Ly Pakosta is Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs of the Republic of Estonia since July 2024. Prior to this role, she was the Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee of the Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu). She is a member of the political party Estonia 200. Ms Pakosta is an experienced leader with extensive international experience and a strong background in both public and private sectors. She has held various leadership positions, including the head of the Tallinn Heritage Board, the State Heritage Board, and Deputy Mayor of Tallinn. Ms Pakosta was a member of Parliament from 2009 to 2015. She also served as Editor-in-Chief at AS ?hinenud Ajakirjad and was Estonia¡¯s Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner from 2015 to 2022. In her ministerial role, Ms Pakosta is committed to combining the digital and judicial spheres, recognising that technology can enhance access to justice and strengthen societal resilience. She prioritises international cooperation, emphasising security ties, entrepreneurial partnerships, and leveraging digital solutions to strengthen global collaboration. Minister Pakosta holds Master¡¯s degrees in Law and History, and is pursuing a PhD in Law at the University of Tartu.

Effy Vayena

Effy Vayena is Associate Vice President for Digital Transformation and Governance and a Full Professor of Bioethics at ETH Zurich and one of the world's leading experts on the digitalisation of healthcare as well as on data governance and the governance of new technologies generally. She has received numerous awards for her work which focuses on how emerging technologies in biomedicine and data analytics including AI affect our society and what ethical safeguards we should put in place to avoid negative consequences. To address these questions, she uses different research methodologies. She is the founder and director of the Health Ethics and Policy Lab, an interdisciplinary research lab including philosophers, social scientists, lawyers, biologists and engineers.

Vayena has been appointed Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, where she was previously a Fellow. She has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and co-edited several books. Vayena is also an elected member of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences. She currently co-chairs the WHO¡¯s expert advisory group on Artificial intelligence health ethics and governance. Vayena frequently advises governments and public policy organizations on matters of digitization and ethics. As of 1 January 2026, Effy Vayena will also become a member of the Executive Board of ETH Zurich as Vice President for Knowledge Transfer and Corporate Relations.