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How Technophobia in Culture Affects the Law
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Killer Robots, Evil Scientists and Other Tales of Woe: How
Technophobia in Culture Affects the Law
Andrés Guadamuz GonzálezAHRC Research Centre for Studies in Intellectual
Property and Technology Law
Technophobia in culture
Acquiring knowledge is dangerous…
Trying to become like gods…
…will always have nefarious results…
Did I mention it never ends well?
Gods and Monsters
Sci-fi is highly technophobic…
…with some notable exceptions…
Killer robots…
Evil scientists…
Dystopian futures…
Corrupting technologies…
Technophobia: cause or effect?
Descriptive or prescriptive?
Effects of a technophile society
Technology is encouraged, rarely questioned.The law maximises the protection of technology to foster its creation (through intellectual property).Little restriction towards fields of research.
Effects of a technophobe society
Technological creations are questioned and feared. Restrictions on funding of certain technologies.Possible prohibition of specific technologies.Lack of IP protection to questioned technologies.
Regulate! Regulate!
Oooh! Ahh! Gee-golly!Moral panic“Something must be done about this…”“We cannot regulate this new technology”Legislation and case law get it wrongFait accompli
Technophobic pendulum
Internet: “where EVIL Predators pick their victims”Stem-cell funding (USA)GMOs: over-regulated, feared, forbiddenOrdre publique patent clauses applied more stringentlyCloning banGrey-goo rhetoric on new technologies
The I Robot effect (or what has technology ever done for us?)
