Rethinking the Implications of Transformative Economic Innovations: Mapping Challenges of Private Law

Abstract This article participates in mapping existing legal implications stemming from contemporary innovation. The article relies on a case analysis of artificial intelligence, drones and blockchain, to reflect a majority of the underlying legal issues to which many emerging innovations might contribute, and it attempts to map them into different categories of challenges – liability, privacy, and property. It concludes by pinpointing three main reasons behind the identified legal implications: the growing “consciousness” and autonomy of emerging technologies, the growing availability of transformative innovations to the broad public and the development of participatory models in economy and other social spheres, including law, and the tendency for transformative innovations to function in regulatory uncertainty. As a means to cope with challenges generated by technological progress, the article leans towards a process-focused approach that promotes embedding values in the early stages of technological development.