“The ALSA Law and Technology conference ran in July 2025 at UNSW Sydney, following a successful previous iteration at NYCU Law in Taiwan in December 2023.

It was a great opportunity to have discussions about important issues at the intersection of law and technology based, not in Europe or North America, but rather in our own region. The issues in Asia are often distinct and, because of the lack of regional conferences on this topic, there has historically been less opportunity for conversations. I hope the conference, next year in India, can continue to operate as a platform for learning from each other and developing better ideas for law and policy that shape both technologies of the present and future and their use in legal processes and legal education.”

 

(Post-Conference Comments by Professor Lyria Bennett Moses of UNSW)

The ALSA Law and Technology conference ran in July 2025 at UNSW Sydney, following a successful previous iteration at NYCU Law in Taiwan in December 2023. It was a great opportunity to have discussions about important issues at the intersection of law and technology based, not in Europe or North America, but rather in our own region. The issues in Asia are often distinct and, because of the lack of regional conferences on this topic, there has historically been less opportunity for conversations. Our two keynotes highlighted two important topics – Ms Trisha Ray on India’s Digital Trilemma (how to balance individual rights, sovereignty and economic connectedness – which turned out not to be unique to India) and Professor Nicola Henry on Rethinking Legal Responses to Technology-Facilitated Abuse (a critical problem, particularly with the rise of deep fakes). But all of the sessions engaged with a range of issues whose importance and urgency is only increasing. I hope the conference, next year in India, can continue to operate as a platform for learning from each other and developing better ideas for law and policy that shape both technologies of the present and future and their use in legal processes and legal education.

The Conference attracted 127 registered delegates who could attend 2 keynotes and choose among 16 breakout sessions and 3 workshops. Many also chose to attend the welcome event (a launch of the book The Cambridge Handbook of Generate AI and the Law Cambridge University Press, edited by Mimi Zou, Cristina Poncibò, Martin Ebers and Ryan Calo kindly hosted by Johnson Winter Slattery) and the Conference Dinner at Barzura Restaurant on Coogee Beach. We were grateful for sponsorship from Habeas.ai, who shared a demonstration of their tool (Habeas | AI Legal Research Platform for Australian Lawyers) with delegates throughout the day on Thursday.

Prior to the main Conference, there was a special event for early career researchers. Ten researchers, being PhD students, postdocs or early career academics, presented papers, received feedback from allocated mentors and discussed their ideas with the broader group. Professor Anna Huggins gave the ECR Keynote presentation, providing useful practical advice. Prizes were awarded to Shohini Sengupta (PhD Candidate at UNSW; substantive appointment at OP Jindal Global University in India) for best paper (“Birth of a Word: Citizenship”), to Serena Hildenbrand (PhD Candidate and Graduate Researcher at Deakin Law School) as runner up (“Managing the Space between Personal and Non-Personal Information: Grey Areas and Data Governance”), and to Gemma Stevens (PhD Candidate at RMIT University) for the best presentation (“‘No one preps you for this’”: Victim-survivors’ experiences seeking justice through the criminal justice system”). Congratulations to the winners and thank you to all participants and mentors. I hope that this important initiative for early career scholars can continue!

Huge thank you to everyone who made the conference possible. ALSA, and particularly Tan Cheng Han for prompting me to take this on. My Dean, Professor Andrew Lynch, for saying yes and backing this project. Everyone in the University and Faculty who made things happen, especially Liya Xu who provided critical support throughout the planning. The Program Committee for their thoughtful selection of abstracts (which everyone agreed made for a high-quality event). The Chairs for each session. Dr Alice Witt for running the ECR day (also supported by Professor Jeannie Paterson). The Conference Manager (www.theconferencemanager.com.au), Jacqui and Kim, or their organisational expertise and guidance.

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[Call for papers closed] We are delighted to announce that the 2025 ALSA Law and Technology Conference will take place in Sydney, Australia on 9 – 11 July 2025. The call for abstracts is currently open and will close on 15 November 2024. We welcome abstracts on any topic connected to law, technology and innovation and are open to diverse methodologies, disciplines, and career stages. Possible topics include:

• The use of technology in legal institutions, legal practice or law enforcement
• The use of technology in legal drafting
• Theories of law and its relationship to technology and technological change, including the pacing problem
• Regulation of technology
• Legal and policy issues around new technologies, including but not limited to AI, robotics, deepfakes and synthetic media, smart cities, quantum, health technologies, biomedical technologies, neurotechnologies and fintech
• AI governance and aligning AI with human values; governance of organic-digital intelligence
• Legal and policy issues relating to cybersecurity
• Blockchain and the law
• Legal issues for automated decision-making
• Data privacy and protection and digital identity
• Intellectual Property Law and AI: ownership of AI-generated outputs, patentability of AI work, challenges in protecting AI innovations across jurisdictions
• Employment law and AI: the impact of AI on jobs and protecting human jobs
• Digital governance and sovereignty: exploring the legal and regulatory challenges posed by digital spaces and how they affect notions of sovereignty, including the governance of digital platforms
• Environmental implications of emerging technologies (and resulting legal and policy issues)
• Consumer law and technology marketing and manipulation
• Space law
• Redefining Taxation in the Digital Age: The Impact of AI on Domestic and International Tax Systems
• Implications of technology for legal education and the future of law

The Conference also has capacity to host self-organised workshops or streams over the conference period. In addition, there will be a small, selective PhD/ECR workshop on 9 July (with mentoring opportunities and prizes). When submitting an abstract, you will be asked whether you are interested in being considered for this workshop.