SMU Centre for Digital Law

was delighted to host External Research Fellow Assoc Prof Gilad Abiri from Peking University School of Transnational Law for an insightful seminar on 𝘌𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘚𝘶𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

Based on a new piece co-authored with Prof Emanuel V. Towfigh, the seminar examined how generative AI may encode the majority’s way of knowing as the default infrastructure of knowledge itself. Assoc Prof Abiri explored how minority epistemologies may remain present in training data, yet become structurally subordinated in model outputs through the statistical baselines and dominant cultural frameworks embedded in large-scale AI systems.

The discussion considered why this form of harm may not be adequately addressed through conventional bias audits or downstream regulation. Instead, the paper argues that if epistemic subordination is produced at the level of model training, legal and governance responses must also learn to engage at that level.

We are grateful to Assoc Prof Abiri for sharing this thought-provoking work and for advancing important conversations on generative AI, knowledge production, equality, and technology governance.

In a new commentary titled 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦: 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘈𝘐 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦, Faculty Member Asst Prof Lim How Khang examines how Singapore governs AI in practice without enacting a horizontal AI law.

Published by Tech for Good Institute, Asst Prof Lim examines Singapore’s distinctive approach to AI governance. Rather than enacting a horizontal AI law, Singapore has developed a calibrated model built on three layers: an enforceable baseline of existing laws, swift and targeted legislative interventions where specific gaps arise, and an assurance layer that enables firms to assess, test, document, and demonstrate responsible AI practices.

Asst Prof Lim highlights how tools such as AI Verify, the Global AI Assurance Sandbox, and sectoral guidelines and sandboxes help translate AI governance principles into evidence that can support compliance, procurement, stakeholder trust, and responsible deployment. Asst Prof Lim argues that this approach reflects Singapore’s broader regulatory strengths as a small, open economy where institutional trust, regulatory predictability, and AI adoption are closely linked.

With the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement expected to shape regional digital cooperation, the piece offers a timely reflection on whether assurance can become shared infrastructure for AI governance across borders.

Read the commentary here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VY9tIvN5lG7V6uYRxgkMooLwFG8oe76u/view

In a new article titled 𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘓𝘢𝘸𝘴 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘛𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘒𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘝𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘯𝘢𝘮 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘈𝘐, Industry Fellow Drew Hasson examines what Asia’s only two AI laws with real enforcement teeth reveal about how the region may regulate AI in the years ahead.

The article examines how South Korea’s AI Basic Act and Vietnam’s Law on Artificial Intelligence signal two distinct regulatory approaches emerging in Asia. While South Korea’s framework points towards market-access gatekeeping and support for domestic AI capabilities, Vietnam’s approach focuses more heavily on control over infrastructure, data centres, localisation, and the physical layer on which AI systems depend.

Drew argues that these developments reflect broader regional instincts: East Asia is likely to gatekeep the market, while Southeast Asia may focus on controlling the ground on which AI runs. The piece offers a timely perspective on AI regulation, digital sovereignty, and how geopolitical pressures may shape the next phase of AI governance in Asia.

Read the full article here: https://medium.com//two-laws-with-teeth-what-korea-and-vietnam-reveal-about-how-asia-will-regulate-ai-2555313a05b5?postPublishedType=repub

Yesterday, was delighted to co-organise a Fireside Chat with Victoria Espinel, President and CEO of BSA The Software Alliance, in partnership with BSA and YouthTechsg.

The session brought together SMU Law students for an engaging conversation on the AI questions shaping the legal and policy professions. Drawing on her extensive experience at the intersection of government, industry, and technology, Victoria shared insights on global AI policy debates, the evolving regulatory landscape, and the practical challenges organisations face in adopting AI responsibly.

Moderated by Chloe Koh and chaired by Shhreya Balasubramanian, both SMU Computing & Law students and members of YouthTechSG, the discussion also explored what these developments mean for the next generation of lawyers and policy professionals, including how legal training, critical thinking, judgment, and adaptability will continue to matter in a profession increasingly shaped by AI.

We extend our sincere thanks to Victoria Espinel for her thoughtful reflections and generous sharing, and to BSA and YouthTechSG for partnering with us on this meaningful session. We also thank all participants who joined us for the discussion.

warmly congratulates Professor Ching-Fu Lin, External Research Fellow at the SMU Centre for Digital Law and former Co-Chair of the ASIL International Law and Technology Interest Group, on his inclusion in the World Trade Organization - WTO Indicative List of Governmental and Non-Governmental Panelists.

This is a well-deserved recognition of Prof Lin’s outstanding contributions to WTO law, AI and semiconductor regulation, international economic law, and global health law. His work continues to advance important conversations at the intersection of international trade, technology governance, and global regulatory cooperation.

Happy 61st National Day, Singapore! 🇸🇬

As Singapore continues to build a trusted and forward-looking digital future, we celebrate the spirit of resilience, innovation, and progress that brings us together.

is pleased to share that our Deputy Director, Assoc Prof Han-Wei Liu, and his co-author Dr Yue Zhao (Université de Genève) recently published a paper featured in the Oxford Business Law Blog, titled 𝘓𝘢𝘸𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘳: 𝘈𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴.

The post draws on their recent article published in the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, examining how sanctions and countermeasures are placing pressure on the presumed neutrality of international commercial arbitration. Using the concept of “lawfare” — the strategic use of law as a substitute for traditional coercive tools — the authors explore how arbitration has become both a target and a forum for geopolitical contestation.

The paper considers how sanctions regimes, countermeasures, blocking statutes, and divergent approaches across jurisdictions are reshaping arbitral authority, enforcement, contractual interpretation, and the conduct of private parties in cross-border disputes.

The authors’ analysis offers a timely perspective on the resilience of international commercial arbitration in an increasingly fragmented legal and geopolitical landscape, and the need to preserve procedural neutrality amid growing pressures on global dispute resolution.

Read the full article here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5791142

was pleased to co-host the roundtable on 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘈𝘐 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 with Meta as part of the inaugural Singapore Data Festival 2026, held at the SMU Yong Pung How School of Law (YPHSL).

The roundtable opened with remarks by SMUYPHSL Associate Provost (Research Governance) Prof Maartje De Visser. In her address, Prof De Visser highlighted the growing importance of AI governance as the use of, and reliance on, AI becomes increasingly pervasive and underscored the need to safeguard and enhance public trust as technology continues to evolve.

As AI evolves from a tool we direct into an agent that can act on our behalf, the roundtable examined what reasonable trust looks like in an era of rapid technological change. The discussion reframed trust not as a binary, but as a reasonableness standard that must adapt as AI capabilities continue to advance.

Moderated by Stephy Kwan (Meta), the session featured speakers from academia, government, legal practice, and industry, including SMUCDL faculty Prof Wang Heng (SMUYPHSL), Lee Wan Sie (Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore), Prof Hiroki Habuka (Kyoto University), Noboru Kitayama (森・濱田松本法律事務所), and Royce Wee (Meta).

We are grateful to our colleagues at Meta for co-hosting this timely roundtable, and to all speakers and participants for contributing to a thoughtful discussion on responsible AI, reasonable trust, and technology governance.

Through engagements like these, SMUCDL continues to advance critical conversations on digital law and governance — addressing the foundational question of how we build trust in emerging technologies by exploring dimensions beyond the legal scope, including policy and societal perspectives, with multi-stakeholder contributions.

is pleased to share that our External Research Fellow Prof Błażej Kuźniacki and his co-author Marco Almada from the University of Luxembourg recently published their paper, 𝘋𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘢𝘹 𝘈𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, in 𝘋𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺: 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘴, 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘰-𝘓𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺, a journal with an impact factor of over 2.0.

The paper examines how the digitalisation of tax administrations brings digital sovereignty into the heart of public governance. Focusing on the use of AI, large-scale data systems, and other digital technologies in tax administration, the authors explore how issues such as cybersecurity vulnerabilities, technological dependencies, foreign influence over digital supply chains, and gaps in technical expertise can affect a state’s ability to perform core sovereign functions.

The paper offers a timely contribution to debates on digital sovereignty, public sector automation, AI governance, and the design and procurement of digital technologies in the modern state.

Read the paper here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44206-026-00268-0

is delighted to welcome Victor Dorokhin, Member of the Saint Petersburg Chamber of Advocates as our External Research Fellow.

Victor is an attorney and legal scholar working at the intersection of law, philosophy, and economics, with over two decades of business and legal experience in international shipping, insurance, and technology. His research interests include the economic analysis of law, algorithmic decision-making and moral costs, AI governance, and intellectual property law and policy. He is the author of 𝘓𝘢𝘸, 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘴: 𝘈𝘯 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘈𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘔𝘢𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 (Edward Elgar, 2026), published in the 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺 series. He is currently an attorney in private practice based in India and writes regularly for the Los Angeles Daily Journal, including on Big Tech regulation and AI.

We look forward to engaging with Victor’s expertise in law, economics, AI governance, and intellectual property as part of CDL’s ongoing work in digital law and technology governance.

Learn more about our Affiliates: https://cdl.smu.edu.sg/people/affiliates