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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.
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Law in an Era of “Smart” Technology
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Law in an Era of “Smart” Technology By Susan W. Brenner
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Brenner, Susan W., 1947Law in an era of “smart” technology / By Susan W. Brenner. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-19-533348-0 (clothbound : alk. paper) 1. Technology and law. 2. Justice, Administration of—Technological innovations. 3. Technological innovations—Law and legislation. 4. Computers—Law and legislation 5. High technology industries—Law and legislation. I. Title. K487.T4B74 2007 344′.095—dc22
2007023638
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Contents Chapter : Int