Challenges of Law and Technology - Herausforderungen des Rechts und der Technologie - Retos del Derecho y de la Tecnología

Abstract

Law and technology present humanity with challenges and opportunities. It is in this context, and in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Gerald Spindler of the University of Göttingen, that this international collective research work was conceived and coedited.The early and unexpected death of our esteemed colleague Professor Spindler in September 2023 has deeply shocked many of us. Our sincere condolences to his family, staff and colleagues. I thank him for his friendship, his constant support, his guidance and his advice. Those of us who had the honour of knowing him personally appreciated his high academic and human qualities, his humility, simplicity, scientific profundity and humanity. He was a beacon in the legal-economic world, and his contributions and legacy as an academic and as a human being will continue to guide many of us.The work was made possible by the invaluable participation of colleagues from three continents. In this context, part of the research was presented at an online symposium organised by us and hosted by Prof. Spindler's Chair of Civil Law, Commercial and Economic Law, Comparative Law, Multimedia and Telecommunication Law on 22 July 2022. This anthology's goal is to investigate three of the pillars supporting the connection between technology and law.: artificial intelligence, blockchain and digital platforms. In these areas, the authors analyse legal issues of public and private law from European, Japanese, US and Latin American perspectives.Our heartfelt thanks go to all the authors for their contributions, their time and support in realising the work, to the memory of Prof. Dr. Gerald Spindler for his invaluable support, time and commitment, as well as to his chair, especially Dr. Andreas Seidel and Ms. Ingrid Floerke, who provided us with decisive and sustained support in all phases of the project and the publication, and to the publishing house of the University of Göttingen, its editorial team and Ms. Hannah Böhlke for their VI Preface cooperation, support and uncomplicated guidance of the project from its inception to its realisation. We would also like to thank Dr Simon Gerdemann for his support and Mr. Valentin Braun, staff member of Prof Spindler's chair, for the editorial supervision of some of the manuscripts.Thanks are also due to the scholarship students of the Tecnológico de Monterrey for their assistance in formatting some of the contributions. Special thanks to