Researching Emerging Technology
| Publication year | 2013 |
| Pages | 103 |
Legal Research Corner
Researching Emerging Technology
By Stephanie Noble
This Department, published quarterly, is sponsored by the Colorado Association of Law Librarians (CoALL) to provide helpful information about legal research. Readers are welcome to send research questions to CoALL, Legal Research Corner, at www.aallnet.org/chapter/coall. CoALL members will attempt to answer questions individually or as part of this Department.
The information provided in this Department is for educational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. No endorsement or recommendation is made of any product named in articles. Department coordinators are CoALL members Andrea Hamilton, Madeline Cohen, Lorelle Gianelli, Cecily Harms, and John Moss. For more information about CoALL, visit www.aallnet.org/chapter/coall.
About the Author
Stephanie Noble is the Emerging Technologies Librarian for the U.S. Courts Library for the Tenth Circuit-stephanie_noble@ca10.uscourts.gov.
According to Ray Kurzweil, one of the leading inventors of our time, "An analysis of the history of technology shows that technological change is exponential, contrary to the common-sense 'intuitive linear' view."[1] Kurzweil's Law, also known as the Law of Accelerating Returns, theorizes that "we won't experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century-it will be more like 20,000 years of progress (at today's rate)."[2]
The rapid pace at which technology is evolving has created a lag between the development of new technologies and the legal and ethical oversight that governs them. Emerging technologies, including revolutions in genomics, nanotechnology, neuroscience, virtual reality, surveillance technologies, 3D printing, and enhancement technologies, will fundamentally change the practice of law. Because legal research traditionally is based on precedent-with researchers looking at how an idea has been handled in previous cases, legislative histories, and secondary interpretation-it can be challenging to research ideas related to emerging technologies using traditional resources, because there is precedent to be set.
This article discusses how to conduct anticipatory legal research using nontraditional resources. To help readers with the concepts, 3D printing is used as the example emerging technology being researched. However, the research techniques provided can be applied to any emerging technology (for example, Google Glasses, genetically modified food, kitchen meat incubators, tissue engineering, augmented reality, or optical computing).
Overview of 3D Printing
3D printing refers to any one of a number of techniques that accomplish what is known as "additive manufacturing." Instead of taking a large piece of a material and cutting it down to the desired shape, 3D printers build an object layer by layer. Since the 1980s, high-priced 3D printers have been used by manufacturers for rapidly prototyping product designs.[3]
Although 3D printing technology has been used for decades, it has reached the public consciousness only in the past two years. The expiration of patents on foundational technologies such as Fused Deposition Modeling and Selective Laser Sintering has allowed a number of companies to design open-source upgrades to the original technology. This open sourcing has led to the creation of 3D printers that cost as little as $350, dramatically broadening the applications of the technology. Analysts who follow the field argue that the technology has hit its "tipping point" and soon will become as commonplace as laptops, smart phones, and tablets.[4]
Learning More About the Technology
Before researchers can grapple with the legal implications of this transformative technology, they must first wrap their minds around a process that allows gun parts, toy pieces, entire cars, and cupcakes to be created digitally and then physically. Two research tools that can be very helpful for developing an understanding of new technologies are Wikipedia[5] and YouTube.[6] Both websites, which were themselves emerging technologies ten years ago, provide free access to information on just about any topic. Users just type the topic being researched into the search field.
Wikipedia
Although Wikipedia is not an authoritative research tool in the sense that it has been peer-reviewed and professionally edited, it is a valuable resource for gaining a basic understanding of a complex technology in non-technological language. It is a good starting point to learn the terms, the development process, and the current uses of...
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