To The Point: Technology & Digitalisation - February 2020

Preface

Why is law so important in the context of technology? A couple of years ago, the two areas did not seem to have much in common. They looked like two separate fields that barely intertwined. But in 2020 the connection of these two fields is undisputable. To get digitalisation projects done successfully, legal aspects should be considered in due time. There are countless debates on, for example, ethical guidelines for AI, protection of citizens from unfair algorithms, transparency in the ad tech business, etc., all of which show that legal discussions must take the role of technology into account. And tech must take legal and regulatory frameworks into account. What is the lawyer's job in all this? It is not just to represent you in court, but also to build bridges between the two fields and translate law into tech and tech into law. Thus, in this fast- moving world, lawyers' "language skills" have to improve rapidly, which is a challenge but also a lot of fun!