Title: SUMMARY OF THE CONCEPTUAL EXPLORATION

Summary of the conceptual exploration

In this chapter, we have explored the concept of Ambient Law. For a start we have discriminated between different conceptions of the relationship between law and technology, favouring a conception that acknowledges that technology is neither good nor bad, but never neutral (section ). We have developed the idea that moral values and legal norms can be inscribed into a technology and argued that as far as this is the case, technological design should be a concern of the legislator, bringing the consequences of such design within the reach of democratic procedure and the rule of law (section and ). Having discussed that the distinctive features of modern law depend on the fact that its values and norms have been inscribed in the written and printed script (section ), we have argued that for law to remain both legitimate and effective, it will need rearticulation in the emerging architecture of AmI. To provide some first examples of what Ambient Law could imply, we have discussed the concepts of ‘contextual integrity’ and ‘digital territory’ (sections and ). To the extent that these concepts can be made operational in digital code and integrated in the legal framework, they will provide a more effective and legitimate type of law, coined Ambient Law in FIDIS deliverables 7.3 and 7.7.