The extensive use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and systems and its extraordinary relevance in a multitude of social and economic domains must be framed into the broader context of a second wave of digital transformation. The acceleration and accumulation of technological developments pose unforeseen challenges to the twenty-first century's law. [---] The aim of this article is to devise an analytical framework to identify the disruptive features of AI, as one of the most illustrative exponents of the second-generation technologies, and assess the potential impact on certain existing principles, rules and concepts.