Research

CAIDG pursues a number of interdisciplinary research initiatives and projects organized around the interlocking themes of Data Governance, Emerging Technology Regulation and Digital Law. Our research brings a constructive regional inflection to global debates about the digital transformation in research projects and initiatives that often fall under two (and sometimes all three) of these interlocking streams. You can read more about each of our initiatives and projects below, and you can search through the repository of current and historical research under PUBLICATIONS.

Data Governance 

Data is the lifeblood of the digital transformation, sometimes described as the “new oil” or a “fourth factor of production”. Data Governance research has typically focused on the crucial dimensions of privacy and personal data protection. Current estimates are that we each generate about 2 megabytes of data per minute — or rather, that others generate that volume of data about us. Most of it will never to be known or accessible to us. The ongoing digital transformation of society and its economy has seen myriad problematic uses of our personal data arising—from targeted advertising in “surveillance capitalism” to the loss of privacy through incorporation of personal data in generative AI training sets. 

Beyond privacy and personal data protection, however, Data Governance embraces a rich set of questions ranging from issues of national security and geopolitics to the question of access to commercial data for beneficial innovation and the promotion of strategic industries. Data is generated and moves—often across borders—with every Zoom call or Teams meeting, and many questions of Data Governance concern its collection, holding, and use without necessarily touching privacy issues. The “new oil” narrative was applied to silicon microprocessors decades ago, when American industrialists and strategists were concerned about the offshoring of chip production. The comparison was to oil’s geo-strategic importance following the 1970s oil crisis, not just its role as a “fuel” for economic activity.  

Behind the terminology of Data Governance there are some profound conceptual questions. These include, first and foremost, what “data” is and why it needs governing. In the personal data protection context, this includes fundamental questions about data and the extension of the “person” into the informational domain. They also include questions relating to the various levers and levels of “governance” including law, standards, market forces, and other social forces. Data Governance also intersects with some questions fundamental to the notion of a “digital economy”, including the legal treatment of “data” as a valuable object of legal transactions—an apparent “digital commodity” that is not a straightforward object of property rights. 

We approach these questions with open-minded and wide-ranging curiosity, inter-disciplinarity, intellectual rigour and the benefit of our location within a law school – which allows us to bring a certain jurisprudential and philosophical level of analysis to bear. 

Emerging Technology Regulation 

Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are transforming the global landscape, opening myriad possible digital futures. However, along with their tremendous promise, these technologies also present complex regulatory challenges. Their rapid evolution often outpaces existing legal and governance frameworks, necessitating the development of novel regulatory approaches.   

Our research on Emerging Technology Regulation explores effective regulatory strategies for emerging technologies. Our approach acknowledges the interconnected nature of technological development and data governance, aiming to ensure that advancements in emerging technologies align with principles of ethical use, transparency, and societal benefit. Through this dedicated focus, CAIDG is not only guiding technological progress but also ensuring that the digital transformation unfolds in a manner that respects rights, fosters trust, and serves the common good.   

The set of “emerging technologies” is sometimes also called “frontier technologies” and overlaps to an extent with “critical technologies”. What is emerging changes from time to time. Further, emerging technologies are often deployed in a tech stack with more conventional technologies, changing the constellation in a way that raises new regulatory and legal issues. At the present time, our focus is on the following constellation:  

• Generative AI 
• Cryptocurrencies, DAOs, and Digital Assets 
• Autonomous Vehicles (including Autonomous Weapons Systems) 
• Digital Urban Infrastructure and “Internet of Things” 
• Immersive Technology and Spatial Computing 

In our research, we try to address current issues raised by emerging technologies on a rolling basis, with an eye towards producing countercyclical research outputs on technologies that may still be in development. To that end, our work in Emerging Technology Regulation research stream also embraces things like: 

• Quantum Computing 
• Neurotech, Implants, and Augmentations 
• Space Law 

Digital Law  

This research stream takes its cue from the Singapore Smart Nation initiative and the IMDA Digital Economy Framework for Action. 

Singapore has set its sights on becoming a world-class, tech-driven city-state. This vision rests on three pillars of digital transformation: Digital Society, Digital Economy, and Digital Government. Across these pillars, Singapore is leading the world in harnessing technology to transform how its people and businesses live, work and play. Our point of departure is to ask: What kind of legal system is needed to support and govern a “smart nation” across these different aspects of society, economy, and government? 

Importantly, research under this stream embraces not only regulation, but questions of constitutional and administrative law (for example, the judicial review of automated decision-making) and also private law – ranging from the private law governing new digital assets and other novel forms of wealth representation, to contract automation or tort law in digital environments. It also embraces the urban landscape and the vital role played by infrastructure as a target of regulation, and increasingly a mode of regulation itself.