Arthur Cockfield makes some good points that are relevant to a discussion of the techno-legal time-gap:
- The interplay between law and technology is complex and interactive.
- Flexible solutions are required ‘law is technology’.
- Regulation of technology is also directly or indirectly linked to regulation of behavior ‘technology is law’.
- During times of technological change the law must adapt by becoming a more flexible and forward-looking system.
The news podcasts often feature commentaries concerning the double-edged nature of technology. Numerous reports from different parts of the world informed about different cases when technology was not only a way to progress for humanity, but it also brought a number of significant difficulties with it including the environmental pollution, exhaustion of the planet’s resources, social injustice, placing communication barriers between people and many more. Such double-edged nature of technology is the reason for the creation of legislative norms and principles in order to regulate technological development. As a result, it appears that there exists a complex and versatile interplay between technology and law.
For instance, such interplay is evident when technology is regulated, and the outcomes of such regulation find their reflections in law. To illustrate this, some of the notorious technological achievements of cloning can be mentioned. When scientists managed to clone the first living organisms and informed the public that cloning was possible for human beings, a number of ethical issues were raised. This led to adopting new laws forbidding cloning human beings in most of the countries in the world. The interplay between technology and law can be observed in this case.
For some of the reliable specialists, such interplay suggests that technology is a law. As technology is in its constant development, it is very important to create a flexible and well-adapting legislative system able to keep pace with modern-day scientific progress.