Comprehensive Research OrganizationWaseda University

The proliferation of generative AI has been remarkable, and the digitalization of society is steadily progressing, resulting in a social landscape that differs from that at the time of this institute’s establishment. In light of these developments and based on the outcomes of over four years of research as well as the results of the third-year interim evaluation, the following outlines the research plan for the renewed term of the institute.
In relation to the interface between the social implementation of advanced science and technology and legal regulation, the institute will, as at its inception, focus on the following three domains as its principal research areas:
(1) the relationship between science, technology, and law (including their ethical foundations);
(2) the public law regulation and legal frameworks for governmental support of science and technology; and
(3) the private law regulation of science and technology.
These research areas will be examined from the following perspectives: namely, the perspective of addressing the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) that arise in the process of socially implementing advanced scientific and technological innovations, and the perspective of legal responses to risks that may emerge because of such implementation.
Furthermore, to avoid excessive thematic expansion, the renewed research agenda will focus on the concept of “human-centered urban development through the use of digital and AI technologies,” that is, the integrated theme of “human–technology–urban development.” Within this overarching framework, the institute will continue research on (a) “the Metaverse and the Law” and (c) “MaaS, Autonomous Driving, and the Law,” while evolving the theme of (b) “Telemedicine and the Law” into a more advanced study on (b)’ “Human Augmentation, Medical Technologies, and the Law.”