Future-Proofing Law

Abstract

It was only fifty years ago that Texas Instruments introduced a pocket calculator, and that a South African doctor performed a heart transplant. The iPhone is merely a decade old. In the blink of an eye, everyday objects are gaining intelligence, robots are taking to the streets, and drones are taking to the air. The quickening pace of technological change challenges regulators across the world. This essay introduces the articles in the UC Davis symposium on “Future-Proofing Law: From rDNA to Robots,” published in two issues of the UC Davis Law Review. It distills some of the lessons that regulators might keep in mind as they approach rapidly advancing technologies.