When technology and society outpace the law

[Commentary] The FBI-Apple encryption battle is just the beginning of an important debate this country needs to have about what to do when US innovation outpaces American law. The FBI's failure to get data it wanted from an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino (CA) terrorists — despite significant help from Apple — shows that time has arrived once again. As with the coming of the telephone, the car, the radio and TV, the spread of the mobile Internet has gotten ahead of case law.

In this case, with hand-held smartphones now ubiquitous, a consumer technology has outstripped the ability of the government to complete an important terrorist investigation. Given the pace of development in the tech industry — especially in machine learning and artificial intelligence — hardware and software likely will soon outstrip the law in other areas, too. Unless we want to leave a wide range of legal questions to the vagaries of 50 states, lawmakers hearing from Apple and the FBI this week should draft legislation that defines the rights and liabilities being created for Americans by the proliferation of a intelligent machines.