PM Lawrence Wong Calls for AI-Era Rethink of Singapore's Legal System
Source: The Straits Times
PM Lawrence Wong calls for rethinking legal assumptions in the AI era at the SGLaw200 Youth Forum, as Singapore prepares to launch its Online Safety Commission and explores AI-powered legal services to expand access to justice.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has urged Singaporeans to rethink fundamental assumptions about legal responsibility in the age of AI, warning that the nation's rule-of-law framework must evolve continuously to stay relevant. Speaking at the SGLaw200 Youth Forum hosted at SMU's Yong Pung How School of Law, Wong told roughly 500 participants that every generation must adapt the legal system to new technological realities rather than simply preserve it unchanged.
The forum, part of the bicentennial of Singapore's modern legal system, featured a dialogue with Law Minister Edwin Tong and the inaugural MinLaw Ideation Challenge where university students pitched proposals for the future of law and justice. Winning ideas included an AI-powered legal services portal to make justice more accessible, a proposal to allow CPF Ordinary Account funds for legal fees, and a reimagined fintech regulatory sandbox. These concepts reflect a growing recognition that technology — particularly AI — can expand access to legal services beyond what traditional models achieve.
A key milestone highlighted at the event was the upcoming launch of the Online Safety Commission on June 29, 2026, empowered by the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Act passed in 2025. The commission will give victims of online harms a faster pathway to redress, a framework that Tong noted was directly shaped by youth input during consultations. The intersection of AI regulation, platform accountability, and access to justice formed a major thread across all breakout sessions.
Why it matters for Singapore: As one of the world's most digitally connected societies, Singapore faces a unique challenge in updating its legal frameworks while maintaining the trust-based, rule-of-law foundation that underpins its economic success. Wong's message — that legal institutions must evolve with AI rather than resist it — signals that the government sees regulatory agility as a competitive advantage rather than a constraint. The MinLaw Ideation Challenge's winning proposals offer a concrete glimpse into how Singapore's next generation of legal minds wants to integrate AI into the justice system.