Bryant Walker Smith

Technology affects law. Law affects technology. The relationship between the two goes both ways, and is an ongoing process that deserves study – and discussion – in and of itself, says Professor Bryant Walker Smith, particularly as emerging and new technologies will continue to come into tension with the law seemingly every day. He examines how law responds to, incorporates, and affects the development of new technologies. He also addresses questions of risk and regulation from both public and private perspectives, and considers a range of currently emerging technologies (automated vehicles, drones, robots), as well as historic innovations (the railroad) that offer insights into anticipating and resolving key legal and policy tensions.

It’s a question that regulators, judges, juries, managers, engineers and researchers confront every day – and they arrive at answers that are simultaneously perplexing yet remarkably consistent. But why and how does this matter? Drawing from a popular class he teaches every year, Professor Bryant Walker Smith brings valuation from the shadows into the spotlight through anecdotes and analysis. He explores how we value life for the purposes of design, benefit analysis, agency rulemaking, litigation and awarding of damages, and the implications of the numbers we put worth. It affects whether a rule happens or doesn’t. Whether a company installs a part or doesn’t. If that same company gets in trouble for not installing that part years later. Whether people who drive ARE in a position to compensate those they may injure. It all comes back to the value of life.

They seemingly operate in disparate worlds. They regard one another with equal parts fascination and trepidation. But both lawyers and engineers have a great deal in common, says Professor Bryant Walker Smith (he should know – he’s both), and it’s time they come together and recognize the value of “speaking the same language.” Both professions work with clients to achieve a goal with certain tools (law; science) and certain constraints (ethics; physics), he explains. Both professions emphasize process and fundamentally address reasonableness, and the ability to understand and go between disciplines is important. But Professor Smith also cautions that some words – including control and efficiency – can have different meanings in different domains. Ultimately, lawyers and engineers will help themselves and their clients by knowing when and how to turn to their counterparts. This talk is directed not only at the professionals, but also at the leaders who rely on them.

Will today’s online theft become tomorrow’s online sabotage? As the digital and physical worlds become inextricably intertwined – on the road, in the sky, in the home and even in our bodies – the destructive potential of cyber attacks is likely to grow. This means that public anxiety could undermine the technologies that could save and improve lives. Professor Bryant Walker Smith decodes the risk perception versus the reality while introducing and exploring the current and future legal frameworks for cyber security, including civil and criminal liability. For example, how do we regulate the security of computer systems? And who is liable for the failures of those systems? The fact is the systems will never be perfect. Professor Smith asks – and answers – the questions that arise as a result: how should the inevitable lawsuits be managed? What are the courts likely to do? How are regulators likely to respond? How should the law evolve to address? This talk is important for both public and private actors as Professor Smith helps all of us understand how to better manage liability and risk – before rather than after the next attack.

Products are no longer static; they’re constantly changing. Technology “systems” – in our homes, our bodies, on the road – are consistently communicating with the companies that created them, remotely monitoring user activity and delivering product updates. Remote updates, end-user license agreements and digital rights management are just a few of the ways companies are dramatically expanding their information about, access to, and control over the products they make and sell. But with great power comes great responsibility, cautions Professor Bryant Walker Smith. He explains why this is, and explores the ways in which companies could incur new obligations and liabilities toward the people who use or are injured by their products. He also explains how the uncertainty caused in part by evolving notions of responsibility could actually drive companies to further embrace these service-oriented business models. While technology evolves so too must the business models and legal tools.