The fields of technology and law develop at significantly different speeds: technology is dynamic and fast moving; the law is measured and takes time to deliberate the moral implications of applying technologies.

Data protection laws, for example, have developed gradually in response to technological advances. But as technology races ahead – to the point where even the technically proficient use only a fraction of the capabilities of the devices they own – many lawyers and judges will have little opportunity, or perhaps desire, to understand what is technically possible.