Our Vision
The SMU Centre for Digital Law’s vision is to become the premier law and technology research centre in Asia, integrating expertise from law, computer science, and digital humanities. The Centre will bolster Singapore’s position as a leader in digital transformation in Asia and advance the vision of a smart nation that fosters human flourishing. Through world-class contributions in foundational and translational research as well as life-long learning, the Centre will influence global discussions on technology’s societal impact, governance, and regulation.
Jason Grant Allen
Director, Centre for Digital Law
Associate Professor of Law
Digital technologies are at the forefront of almost every live issue in 21st century society. Novel technologies expand the space of what humans are able to do, and in that process expand the problem-space of coordinated human social behaviour. While not the only lever we have, law is the paradigm mode of social coordination and often plays a fundamental background role in shaping the other levers (such as markets and informal social norms). In this way, law and legal studies can play a vital role in digital transformation—identifying the issues that matter and providing an organised, structured framework for both traditional legal and inter/cross-disciplinary research that is both conceptually grounded and pragmatic. In this way, the Centre aims not merely observe and describe technological change, but actively to participate in guiding the evolution of our increasingly digital world.
