Law in an Era of Smart Technology

Abstract

In this book, Susan Brenner analyzes the complex and evolving interactions between law and technology and provides a thorough and detailed account of the law in technology at the beginning of the 21st century. She draws upon recent technological advances, evaluating how developing technologies may alter how humans interact with each other and with their environment. She analyzes the development of technology as shifting from one of “use” to one of “interaction,” and argues that this interchange requires us to reconceptualize our approach to legal rules, which were originally designed to prevent the “misuse” of older technologies. Brenner argues that as technologies continue to evolve, the laws targeting the relationship between humans and technology must become, and should remain, neutral. She explains how older technologies rely on human implementation, but new, “smart” technologies are intelligent and autonomous, in varying degrees. This, she notes, will eventually lead to the ultimate progression in our relationship with technology: the fusion of human physiology and technology. Law in an Era of “Smart” Technology provides a detailed, historically-grounded analysis of why our traditional relationship with technology is evolving in ways that require a corresponding shift in our law.

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