Future Law: Challenges for Law, Technology and Culture – serie

How will law, regulation and ethics govern a future of fast-changing technologies? Bringing together cutting-edge authors from academia, legal practice and the technology industry, Future Law explores and leverages the power of human imagination in understanding, critiquing and improving the legal responses to technological change. It focuses on the practical difficulties of applying law, policy and ethical structures to emergent technologies both now and in the future. It covers crucial current issues such as big data ethics, ubiquitous surveillance and the Internet of Things, and disruptive technologies such as autonomous vehicles, DIY genetics and robot agents. By using examples from popular culture such as books, films, TV and Instagram – including 'Black Mirror', 'Disney Princesses', 'Star Wars', 'Doctor Who' and 'Rick and Morty' – it brings hypothetical examples to life. And it asks where law might go next and to regulate new-phase technology such as artificial intelligence, ‘smart homes’ and automated emotion recognition.

How will law, regulation and ethics govern a future of fast-changing technologies? 'From current controversies over Internet content, privacy and radicalisation, to science fiction and Black Mirror visions of the future, pervasive fears exist that technology inevitably outpaces law and social control' 'Future Law' responds to these fears by exploring how law and ethics can foresee and control new technologies that challenge our societal norms and expectations. Bringing together cutting-edge authors from academia, legal practice and the technology industry, this book explores and leverages the power of human imagination in understanding, critiquing and improving the legal responses to technological change.

This book examines the rise of the direct-to-consumer genetic testing industry (DTC) and its use of 'wrap' contracts. It uses the example of DTC to show the challenges that disruptive technologies pose for societies and for regulation. It also uses the wrap contracts of DTC companies to explore broader issues with online contracting.

While legal technology may bring efficiency and economy to business, where are the people in this process and what does it mean for their lives?Brings together leading judges, academics, practitioners, policy makers and educators from countries including India, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom South Africa and NigeriaIncludes contributions from Roger Smith, Dory Reiling, Christian Djeffal, George Williams and Odunoluwa LongeOffers a dialogue between theory and practice by presenting practical and reflective essays on the nature of changes in the legal sectorAnalyses technological changes taking place in the legal sector, situates where these developments have taken place, who has brought it about and what impact has it had on societyAround four billion people globally are unable to address their everyday legal problems and do not have the security, opportunity or protection to redress their grievances and injustices. Courts and legal institutions can often be out of reach because of costs, distance, or a lack of knowledge of rights and entitlements and judicial institutions may be under-funded leading to poor judicial infrastructure, inadequate staff, and limited resources to meet the needs of those who require such services. This book sets out to embed access to justice into mainstream discussions on the future of law and to explore how this can be addressed in different parts of the legal industry. It examines what changes in technology mean for the end user, whether an ordinary citizen, a client or a student. It looks at the everyday practice of law through a sector wide analysis of law firms, universities, startups and civil society organizations. In doing so, the book provides a roadmap on how to address sector specific access to justice questions and to draw lessons for the future. The book draws on experiences from judges, academics, practitioners, policy makers and educators and presents perspectives from both the Global South and the Global North.

Asks how technology can help people to access justice across the legal industryBrings together leading judges, academics, practitioners, policy makers and educators from countries including India, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom South Africa and NigeriaOffers a dialogue between theory and practice by presenting practical and reflective essays on the nature of changes in the legal sectorAnalyses technological changes taking place in the legal sector, situates where these developments have taken place, who has brought it about and what impact has it had on societyWhile legal technology may bring efficiency and economy to business, where are the people in this process and what does it mean for their lives?Around five billion people globally are unable to address their everyday legal problems and do not have the security, opportunity or protection to redress their grievances and injustices. Courts and legal institutions can often be out of reach because of costs, distance or a lack of knowledge of rights and entitlements and judicial institutions may be under-funded leading to poor judicial infrastructure, inadequate staff, and limited resources to meet the needs of those who require such services.This book sets out to embed access to justice into mainstream discussions on the future of law and to explore how this can be addressed in different parts of the legal industry. It examines what changes in technology mean for the end user, whether an ordinary citizen, a client or a student. It looks at the everyday practice of law through a sector-wide analysis of law firms, universities, startups and civil society organisations. In doing so, the book provides a roadmap on how to address sector-specific access to justice questions and to draw lessons for the future. The book draws on experiences from judges, academics, practitioners, policy makers and educators and presents perspectives from both the Global South and the Global North.

This book examines the rise of the direct-to-consumer genetic testing industry (DTC) and its use of 'wrap' contracts. It uses the example of DTC to show the challenges that disruptive technologies pose for societies and for regulation. It also uses the wrap contracts of DTC companies to explore broader issues with online contracting.

Whenever you use a smartphone, website, or IoT device, your behaviour is determined to a great extent by a designer. Their software code defines from the outset what is possible, with very little scope to interpret the meaning of those 'rules' or to contest them. How can this kind of control be acceptable in a democracy? If we expect legislators to respect values of legitimacy when they create the legal rules that govern our lives, shouldn't we expect the same from the designers whose code has a much more direct rule over us?In this book Laurence Diver combines insight from legal theory, philosophy of technology, and programming practice to develop a new theoretical and practical approach to the design of legitimate software. The book critically engages with the rule(s) of code, arguing that, like laws, these should exhibit certain formal characteristics if they are to be acceptable in a democracy. The resulting digisprudential affordances translate ideas of legitimacy from legal philosophy into the world of code design, to be realised through the 'constitutional' role played by programming languages, integrated development environments (IDEs), and agile development practice. The text interweaves theory and practice throughout, including many insights into real-world technologies, as well as case studies on blockchain applications and the Internet of Things.

Reboots the debate on 'code as law' to present a new cross-disciplinary direction that sheds light on the fundamental issue of software legitimacyReinvigorates the debate at the intersection of legal theory, philosophy of technology, STS and design practice Synthesises theories of legitimate legal rulemaking with practical knowledge of code production tools and practiceProposes a set of affordances that can legitimise code in line with an ecological view of legalityDraws on contemporary technologies as case studies, examining blockchain applications and the Internet of ThingsLaurence Diver combines insight from legal theory, philosophy of technology and programming practice to develop a new theoretical and practical approach to the design of legitimate software. The book critically engages with the rule(s) of code, arguing that, like laws, these should exhibit certain formal characteristics if they are to be acceptable in a democracy. The resulting digisprudential affordances translate ideas of legitimacy from legal philosophy into the world of code design, to be realised through the 'constitutional' role played by programming languages, integrated development environments (IDEs), and agile development practice. The text interweaves theory and practice throughout, including many insights into real-world technologies, as well as case studies on blockchain applications and the Internet of Things (IoT).Whenever you use a smartphone, website, or IoT device, your behaviour is determined to a great extent by a designer. Their software code defines from the outset what is possible, with very little scope to interpret the meaning of those 'rules' or to contest them. How can this kind of control be acceptable in a democracy? If we expect legislators to respect values of legitimacy when they create the legal rules that govern our lives, shouldn't we expect the same from the designers whose code has a much more direct rule over us?

Addresses the fundamental questions of how our data, online identity and digital assets are treated after deathExamines aspects of property, intellectual property, contract, succession and probate, privacy and data protection, jurisdiction and criminal law Develops a new concept of postmortal privacy Draws on 3 cases studies: the transmission of emails, online games such as World of Warcraft and social networks as the most typical, prominent and widely used types of assets Puts forward policy suggestions, proposals for law reforms and sets out an innovative agenda which will open new avenues for research Offers practical advice for the legal profession and users Edina Harbinja examines the theoretical, technological and doctrinal issues surrounding online death and digital assets. By examining different areas of law, humanities and social science, she proposes the new concept of postmortal privacy (privacy of the deceased individuals) and provides answers and suggestions as to what happens to digital assets and online identity after death. Case studies draw on the transmission of emails, online games such as World of Warcraft and social networks to examine the legal issues surrounding these most prominent and widely used types of assets. Aspects of property, intellectual property, contract, succession and probate, privacy and data protection, jurisdiction and criminal law are considered. Harbinja puts forward policy suggestions, proposals for law reforms and sets out an innovative agenda which will open new avenues for research. Her useful consideration of current digital legacy tools and technologies also offers practical advice for users when it comes to their own estate planning.