DailyPost 593
LAW & TECHNOLOGY
Law & technology have been diametrically opposite knowledge repositories & practices since beginning. With AI moving in the direction of wiping out large chunk of US lawyers, the interconnect cannot be more stark. Machines are already assisting the lawyers in similar ways as in any other profession. On the other hand technology knowledge has become a compulsory requirement now for lawyers in the US.
With the digital technology becoming all pervasive & most interactions, transactions, communications are digital &immense collateral data belong created by cell phones & other gadgets that we use, necessarily the evidence would come out of such sources. Electronic evidence is not limited to Cyber Crime cases. Nearly every case today has electronic evidence, lack of its knowledge is insurmountable handicap. Absolutely no alternative. Only the nitty gritty of technology will help establish the legality or otherwise.
Electronic evidence is understanding the criticality of data; it’s creation, storage & usage for for specific requirements of a case is must. Law first & the lawyer next has to appreciate this reality. Skirting has happened for long , is not possible now. Smart contracts, contract management & arbitration emanating out it, emphasise the interconnect between the two. In the complex web of data & its transactions, the ability of lawyer to decipher, means how well he can use the law for his case through the judicial trial.
The FBI investigation of Silk Road market place on the Dark Net is a case in point. So was San Bernardino case, the battle of encryption between Apple & the US govt. Technology & legality got completely intertwined. Hacks, Breaches, Privacy & Data Protection; the current trends of existence, are bringing the two together. The digital criminal world has already veered away from individuals / groups to creating Criminality Platforms, mirroring the Capitalist Platforms of Uber & Amazon. A knotty issue, indeed!
TECHNOLOGY LAW INTERFACE CAN FACILITATE JUSTICE IMMENSELY.
Sanjay Sahay