Societal Impacts: Legal, Regulatory and Ethical Considerations for the Digital Twin

Abstract

A myriad of laws, rules, and regulations are worthy of consideration for any new and innovative technology, and even more so for one as broad ranging and comprehensive as the Digital Twin ecosystem. A technology like this has the contradiction of open versus proprietary, and all the hybrids in between, because it is in the early stages of its evolution that, in many respects, relies on a combination of existing technologies and innovations. From a legal standpoint, we consider intellectual property rights, including patent, copyright, and trade secret protection, and balancing those rights with the benefits and protections available under contract law. The wide applicability of the Digital Twin to various technologies and fields, such as healthcare, finance, education, aviation, power plants, nuclear reactors, any many more, gives rise to regulatory considerations and ethical concerns. The Digital Twin ecosystem, as applied in these areas and more, requires the collection, processing, generation, and transmission of data subject to regulatory requirements involving privacy and cybersecurity issues, as well as ethical concerns requiring careful consideration of potential bias, trustworthiness, and transparency in the technology used.