Duane Morris TechLaw

June 2, 2015June 2, 2015 by Eric J. Sinrod

Artificial Intelligence – The Potential Emergence of New ‘Human Beings’

Perhaps by now you have seen the recent movie, Ex Machina. If you have not, suffice it to say, an Internet coder is drawn into an unusual experiment in which he engages with a true artificial intelligence (AI) being delivered in the form of an attractive female robot. Is this the stuff of science fiction, or is it possible that humans may transform themselves fundamentally based on human design?

Historically speaking, it was not that long ago that Homo sapiens were not the only human species walking the planet. Indeed, Homo sapiens existed contemporaneously with Neanderthals, and there were other human species along the way as well. As we of course know, Homo sapiens are the only currently surviving human species. But is that about to change? By way of our own ability to create and invent, are we about to change Homo sapiens, or at least some Homo sapiens, into yet a new form? Continue reading “Artificial Intelligence – The Potential Emergence of New ‘Human Beings’”

May 20, 2015 by Eric J. Sinrod

Drones, Drones Everywhere …

What are we going to do with all these drones? Indeed, drones are coming at us from all sorts of angles. As a consequence, law firms are even coming up with practice groups devoted to the legal issues presented by drones.

Let’s explore just a few of the many issues that may arise from drones. Continue reading “Drones, Drones Everywhere …”

May 5, 2015 by Eric J. Sinrod

Selfie Sticks — Love Them, Hate Them, Ban Them?

The topic for today: selfie sticks. How do you feel about them — positive, negative or indifferent?

Let’s backtrack a bit first with a brief history lesson.

Long ago, actually more than a century ago, self portraits usually were created when an artist looked into a mirror and then attempted to paint his or her likeness on a canvas. Continue reading “Selfie Sticks — Love Them, Hate Them, Ban Them?”

May 1, 2015 by Duane Morris

Duane Morris Cybersecurity Lawyer Joseph Burton Receives National Legal Writing Award

Duane Morris is pleased to announce that Joseph M. Burton of the firm’s San Francisco office will receive a Burton Award for Legal Achievement at a gala ceremony to be held June 15, 2015, at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. This honor is given to only 35 authors selected from entries from the nation’s top 1,000 most prestigious and largest law firms. Continue reading “Duane Morris Cybersecurity Lawyer Joseph Burton Receives National Legal Writing Award”

April 21, 2015 by Eric J. Sinrod

Internet-Connected Aircraft Potentially Subject to Hack Attacks

We keep hearing about new and different ways that data can be hacked in the online and wireless world. And, generally speaking, our concern tends to be that our personally identifiable information may be stolen and misused. But that may be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the negative consequences of hack attacks.

Indeed, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) now is concerned about the security of modern aircraft that are more and more dependent on the Internet, as reported by The Guardian. According to a recent GAO report: “Modern aircraft are increasingly connected to the Internet. This interconnectedness can potentially provide unauthorized remote access to aircraft avionics systems.”

Continue reading “Internet-Connected Aircraft Potentially Subject to Hack Attacks”

April 13, 2015April 14, 2015 by Eric J. Sinrod

Teens Addicted to Their Phones

Does it ever seem that teenagers can’t go anywhere without their mobile phones? Does it ever appear that whenever you see teenagers, they seem to be looking down at their gadgets while moving their thumbs at a feverish clip? Indeed, does it seem that their smart phones appear to be permanently attached to their hands as additional body parts?

Well, if these are your perceptions, a recent study supports what you have been perceiving. The Pew Research Center has released a study that addresses teen use of social media technology. According to that study, a robust 73% of American teenagers have access to a smart phone. And 88% of American teenagers have access to a mobile phone of some kind, whether a smart phone or not. Continue reading “Teens Addicted to Their Phones”

April 7, 2015April 7, 2015 by Eric J. Sinrod

Your Shopping Experience Is About to Get Even Easier

Once upon a time, shopping was a time-consuming endeavor. We had no choice but to actually get out of the house and physically travel to different stores to buy what we needed.

Then, the online shopping revolution occurred. Rather than traveling out of the house, all we now need to do is move ourselves up to our computers, and the shopping world is at our fingertips. Practically anything can be purchased over the Internet from a multitude of different Web sites. And Amazon, for example, has sought to be a one-stop shopping site, where countless thousands of items are available for purchase at any given moment, from books, to apparel, to electronics, to furniture, to food, to toys — and the list goes on and on.
Continue reading “Your Shopping Experience Is About to Get Even Easier”

April 1, 2015May 20, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

The History of Technology — Past, Present and Future

We live in the digital age, with the Internet growing exponentially and with our lives becoming more online every day. It is easy to believe that the development of technology has happened primarily in recent times, given this explosion of information technology.

However, that is far from the truth. Indeed, technology, in all of its various facets, has been emerging over the course of millennia. Let’s take a look at just some key technology invention dates from earliest to most recent: Continue reading “The History of Technology — Past, Present and Future”

March 24, 2015May 20, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Be Afraid, Very Afraid Of Who You Meet Online?

Before the explosion of online communications, our world necessarily was smaller and who we came in contact with tended to people we already knew. Then our ability to reach out and communicate with others expanded dramatically and exponentially as we all started traveling at warp speed down the information superhighway.

We learned that not only could we interact with people locally, but with a few keystrokes and mouse clicks we could be communicating with people across the country and even in countries on the other side of the globe. Part of the fun was our ability to communicate anonymously, using pseudonyms.

We could be informal, we could be creative, and we could reinvent ourselves. Indeed, most of us probably remember the cartoon with a dog in front of a monitor and a keyboard that had a caption which read: “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.” Case law developed making clear that First Amendment protections extended to the right to speak freely and even anonymously on the Internet.

All well and good, right? Perhaps for the most part. The Internet has provided a medium that has led to many beneficial communications and interactions for personal, business, and other purposes. However, human nature is not always pure. From the beginning of human history, it seems there always have been some people intent on mischief and even violent behavior. And unfortunately, with the increased ability for people to contact others via the Internet, there also is a heightened possibility for such contacts to lead to terrible results.
Continue reading “Be Afraid, Very Afraid Of Who You Meet Online?”