[wpaudio url=”https://media.shellypalmer.com/wp-content/images/usrn/120522_SHELLYPALMER_GEN_BED.mp3″ text=”Click to play … ” dl=”0″]
You know technology is way ahead of the law. But yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling, says it’s way, way ahead. 18 months after Karen Capato’s husband Robert passed away from cancer, she gave birth to his biological twins through artificial insemination. A blessing, to be sure, but – the Supreme Court ruled that the twins can not get Social Security survivor benefits because Mr. Capato was not alive when they were conceived. No one is denying that the twins are the biological offspring of Mr. Capato, just, that, because he was dead, even though his sperm was alive, the kids are on their own. Now there is legal precedent for this and the jurists probably have it right under the law, but the law better get ready for what’s coming. Would Mr. Capato’s clone, born after his death, be him? How about if he was frozen, instead of just his sperm, and then revived. It may sound like science fiction, but the technology is around the corner.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with AI strategy, implementation and governance, as well as technology, media and marketing. Named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Technology, he is a bestselling author, covers tech and business for Fox 5’s Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN, and writes the popular daily business blog Think About This. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.