Law in an Era of Smart Technology by Susan Brenner (NCR Distinguished Professor of Law and Technology, NCR Distinguished Professor of Law and Technology, University of Dayton School of Law)
Should law be technologically neutral, or should it evolve as human relationships with technology become more advanced? In Law in an Era of Smart Technology, 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. Brenner 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 needs us to reconceptualize our approach to legal rules, which were originally designed to prevent the misuse of older technologies. As technologies continue to develop over the next several decades, Brenner argues that the laws directed between human and technological relationships should remain neutral. She explains how older technologies rely on human implementation, but new smart technology will be completely automated. This will eventually lead to, as she explains, 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 explanation as to why our traditional relationship with technology is evolving and why a corresponding shift in the law is imminent and necessary.