Spotlight on the intersection of law and technology

The pace and intensity of technological development and the resulting social and economic impact have increased with each passing decade of the 21st century. While India has benefited immensely from these developments, we have by and large engaged with these fields as recipients of law, policy and research frameworks developed elsewhere.

The global framework through which we analyse these changes tends to crystallise into a limited set of responses shaped in contexts that are not the same as ours. Moreover, there is a shift away from the initial euphoric, near-universal adoption of regulatory frameworks to a more balkanized law and policy arena where different nations and regions across the world exercise disproportionate and uneven weight. However, without sufficient investment in rigorous social, legal and philosophical research in these fields, we are left unaware of the full range of implications that new technologies have on our societies. Neither are those implications fully translated into terms that enable meaningful debates with the diverse communities that stand to be affected.

In order to navigate through the 21st century in a manner that we benefit from these rapid technological developments, we must develop our own understanding of its impact, as well as law and policy frameworks grounded in India’s experiences. These frameworks are likely to become a roadmap for other developing economies around the world – a potential global south technology law and policy approach.

Interdisciplinary Research Cluster:

NLSIU’s interdisciplinary research cluster at the intersection of Law, Technology and Society seeks to:

• Study the impact of technology, and develop a global voice that reflects perspectives deeply rooted in Indian developments, expertise and experience.
• Engage with diverse communities, both in India and globally; and promote learning through time-tested and experimental methods. The effort directs its research to answer critical questions of regulatory and public interest. The initiative will actively bring together legal, scientific and philosophical expertise to respond to new challenges, and direct the resulting legal and regulatory expertise to feed into policy and regulatory design at the national and international level.
• Participate in constructing governance frameworks and build innovative products and platforms for the public good, in the context of the emergence of new technologies. Many of these outcomes have been designed as a result of collaborations with leading institutions in science and technology as well as social sciences and humanities. The University is also keen on leveraging the existing network of institutions to exchange information and build a platform for conversations around new experiments in the field of law, technology, and society.