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Ideas Festival 2026 | Building Resilient Legal Systems in the AI Age

Artificial intelligence is reshaping the global environment in which legal systems operate—not only by transforming how individuals, firms, and governments act, but also by reconfiguring the broader political economy that sustains them. Resilience in this context means ensuring that legal systems can anticipate, absorb, and adapt to technological disruption while continuing to deliver justice, maintain legitimacy, and safeguard rights. Without deliberate strategies for resilience, legal systems risk narrowing into brittle, tech-dominated structures: constrained in their options, vulnerable to capture, and unable to fulfil their core functions.  Engage with this panel that convenes experts across academia, government, and industry to explore how law can remain a stabilising force in the age of AI and to identify practical strategies for embedding resilience “by design” into legal institutions. *Registration starts at 3.00pm. A light dinner reception will be served after the event. Chatham House Rule applies… Contact: socsc_seminar@smu.edu.sg. Speaker Details: Chair, , Jason Grant Allen Director, Centre for Digital Law Associate Professor of Law, SMU Jason is Director, Centre for Digital Law and Associate Professor of Law at the Yong Pung How School of Law, Singapore Management University. His research spans law, technology, and political economy, with a focus on AI governance, digital assets, and the concept of office in public law Panellists, , Alex Toh Technology Partner, Magellan Law Alex is the Technology Partner at Magellan Law with expertise in… RSVP: . Reserve a seat: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=ynmKyZpakUeiQ_Bq_WdGTUGH9G9u-WtAl9UVUOJ8iDJURFU5TVNKSFY4Q1dMMUhYUzkwS0xJM0VHTS4u&route=shorturl. Type: Seminars & Workshops. Subject: Social Sciences & Humanities. Audience: Public. Academic Community. Alumni. Current Student. SMU Faculty & Staff. Thursday, March 12, 2026, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM. SMU Yong Pung How School of Law Level 4, Function Lounge 4-2 55 Armenian Street, Singapore 179943. For more info visit forms.office.com.

12 Mar 2026 MST Sample Class - Cheap Foods and Expensive Lies: Our Food Choices and Their Sustainability Impact

Infosessions Speaker, , Dr Qian Forrest Zhang Associate Professor of Sociology School of Social Sciences, SMU Associate Professor Forrest Zhang’s research focuses on agrarian political economy, sustainable agrifood practices, and rural development, with a focus on China. In the past 15 years, he has conducted research in over 20 provinces in China and collected data on over 200 rural villages. His recent works have investigated alternative food networks, agricultural cooperatives, industrial pig farming, and land politics. He received his PhD in sociology from Yale University in 2004. RSVP: . Reserve a seat: https://smumst.smu.edu.sg/acton/fs/blocks/showLandingPage/a/45772/p/p-007d/t/page/fm/0. Event Details: “Cheap Foods and Expensive Lies” unpacks the core trick of the global industrial agri-food system: prices fall while real costs explode. We trace how “cheap” calories are engineered through monocultures, chemical- and fossil-fuel dependence, streamlined supply chains, and labour precarity—yielding overproduction, overconsumption, and ecological overdraw. See the connection between everyday food choices and hidden externalities: diet-related disease burdens, degraded soils and waters, exploited workers, h… Contact: mst@smu.edu.sg. Type: Information Sessions. Lectures. Subject: Social Sciences & Humanities. Urban Management & Sustainability. Audience: Alumni. Current Student. Incoming PG Students. Professionals. Prospective Student. Public. SMU Faculty & Staff. Thursday, March 12, 2026, 7:10 PM – 8:30 PM. In-person Session: Seminar Room 3-1, Level 3, SMU School of Social Sciences & College of Integrative Studies, 10 Canning Rise, Singapore 179873 Virtual Session: The virtual session will be conducted on Zoom. For security reasons, the login details.

Ideas Festival 2026 | Resilient Singapore: Reimagining the Civic Core through Environmental History

The history of Singapore’s urban centre is a showcase for resilience in the island city. Its changing landscape is a direct reflection of the things that have made Singapore, from the early port to the agricultural areas, military and civic development, to the reclamation projects. Their development has been the cornerstone of, and reflected, social and economic growth, as Singapore moved through good times, and bad. Each of these socio-economic shifts has left its memory inscribed into the landscape and with them, a story. Starting from Armenian Street at the front of SMU’s Yong Pung How School of Law, this tour delves into the landscape under our feet, imagining a Singapore as it was at different points in its chronology, from the agricultural development of the nineteenth century, to the technological innovations of the early twentieth century, to the Japanese occupation, and beyond. This will be a predominantly social and environmental history, as opposed to a classic national history, one which will tel… Contact: socsc_seminar@smu.edu.sg. Speaker Details: , Yong The Urbanist Singapore Yong is the brains and heart behind The Urbanist Singapore. With a deep passion for Singapore's heritage and urban design, he has led heritage walks as a hobby since 2010, bringing history to life for the community and a whole new generation. RSVP: . Reserve a seat: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=ynmKyZpakUeiQ_Bq_WdGTUGH9G9u-WtAl9UVUOJ8iDJUMTdZOE9NTkpHTUMxWUROM1NXWUJTS0Q3Ry4u&route=shorturl. Type: Seminars & Workshops. Information Sessions. Subject: Social Sciences & Humanities. Audience: Public. Academic Community. Alumni. Current Student. SMU Faculty & Staff. Saturday, March 14, 2026, 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM. SMU Yong Pung How School of Law Sheltered Lobby in front of SOL Main Entrance 55 Armenian Street, Singapore 179943. For more info visit forms.office.com.

Ideas Festival 2026 | Managing Technology and Trade Disruptions: Building Resilience in a Shifting International Landscape

We are entering a new era of global trade (dis)order, shaped by powerful waves of technological and economic disruption. From generative AI transforming production and services, to tariff escalations redrawing trade routes, these shifts are reconfiguring the foundations of international commerce. They bring real opportunities—efficiency gains from emerging technologies, new markets, and innovative business models—but also serious challenges, including fragmentation, heightened uncertainty, and systemic complexity. Together, these dynamics underscore the urgent need for resilience. Bringing together diverse perspectives, this event will explore how businesses and other actors in the region can adapt to and navigate this fast-changing landscape. Key questions include: How can we better understand and prepare for emerging trends? Do these disruptions challenge our long-held assumptions? And how can actors remain resilient and agile in the face of volatility? Join us to exchange insights, build partnerships, and… Contact: socsc_seminar@smu.edu.sg. Speaker Details: Chair: , Pasha L. Hsieh Lee Kong Chian Professor of Law Jean Monnet Chair in EU-ASEAN Law and Relations, SMU Pasha is Lee Kong Chian Professor of Law and Jean Monnet Chair at SMU’s Yong Pung How School of Law. He has held visiting faculty and fellowship positions at the University of Melbourne, Seoul National University, and the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies. Panellists: , Chris Humphrey  Executive Director, EU-ASEAN Business Council Chris is… RSVP: . Reserve a seat: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=ynmKyZpakUeiQ_Bq_WdGTUGH9G9u-WtAl9UVUOJ8iDJUMlFGSjZVV1NBNzY5SVE4NzNQRUZJNVc5Ni4u&route=shorturl. Type: Seminars & Workshops. Subject: Social Sciences & Humanities. Audience: Public. Academic Community. Alumni. Current Student. SMU Faculty & Staff. Tuesday, March 17, 2026, 3:40 PM – 5:00 PM. SMU Administration Building, Level 6 Function Room 6-1 81 Victoria Street, Singapore 188065. For more info visit forms.office.com.

Ideas Festival 2026 | Still Worth Doing? A Public Conversation on the Future of Work

Perhaps the only thing clear about the future of work is its own uncertainty. Yet, amid economic disruption and the rise of AI, public discussion has mostly been limited to predicting available jobs and “employable” degrees. This panel shifts our attention back to the question of work and its role in social life. What will change in the everyday tasks we fulfil as workers, and what meaning should we give to such efforts? What sort of career is still worthy of human skill and emotion? How do we review a performance when labor is partly outsourced to technology? Featuring researchers from across Singapore’s universities, this panel will discuss the changes and challenges in three major aspects of work: care, creativity, and communications. In looking ahead, this panel explores not only what jobs will likely persist, but how work must and should evolve. Join us to reimagine the future of work! *Registration starts at 3.00pm. Light refreshment will be served during registration. Contact: socsc_seminar@smu.edu.sg. Speaker Details: Chair: , Yasmin Y. Ortiga Associate Professor of Sociology, SMU Yasmin is Associate Professor of Sociology at SMU’s School of Social Sciences. She studies how the changing ideas of “skill” shapes how and why people migrate across borders. Her book, Stuck at Home: Pandemic Immobilities in the Nation of Emigration was published by Stanford University Press.   Panellists: , Cheng Chi-Ying Associate Professor of Psychology, SMU Chi-Ying is Associate Professor of Psychology at School of Social… RSVP: . Reserve a seat: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=ynmKyZpakUeiQ_Bq_WdGTUGH9G9u-WtAl9UVUOJ8iDJUMjVNMUJHSzQ2UUVITFkyU1hMSkY4RFlQNC4u&route=shorturl. Type: Seminars & Workshops. Subject: Social Sciences & Humanities. Audience: Public. Academic Community. Alumni. Current Student. SMU Faculty & Staff. Tuesday, March 24, 2026, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM. SMU Yong Pung How School of Law Level 4, Function Lounge 4-2 55 Armenian Street, Singapore 179943. For more info visit forms.office.com.