Rights, Regulation and the Technological Revolution

Rights, Regulation and the Technological Revolution confronts a central question facing modern government - how can regulators respond to both the challenges and opportunities presented by a technologically-driven society without sacrificing legitimacy for effectiveness, or weakening the essential conditions of a stable, aspirant moral community? Analyzing developments across biotechnology, information and communications technology, nanotechnology and neurotechnology, the book explores the difficulties facing the public control of rapid technological change, focusing on the problems of regulatory effectiveness, connection, legitimacy and compliance. The book argues that as regulators struggle to find adequate frameworks to limit,license and support new technologies, they will increasingly rely on a technological approach to complement, enhance, and even replace traditional legal strategies. The book breaks new ground by offering the first overarching commentary on the relationship between regulators, industry, and wider society as the new technologies of the twenty-first century achieve an ever-greater penetration in our daily lives.

Roger Brownsword is Director of TELOS (a newly created research centre focusing on technology, ethics, law and society) and Professor of Law at King's College London. He also maintains a long-standing link with the University of Sheffield as an Honorary Professor in Law.