South African company law in the fourth industrial revolution: does artificial intelligence create a need for legal reform?

Abstract

Across the world, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)1 is disrupting the law.2 The 4IR has specifically disrupted commercial law in areas such as banking,3 competition,4 consumer protection,5 contract,6 insurance,7 labour,8 and personality.9 In addition, company law has also substantially been impacted by the 4IR. Leading legal scholars refer to this process of transformation as the ‘Digitalisation of Company Law’.10 More specifically, the scholars attribute the transformation to technological advancements.