Brydon Timothy Wang
PhD (Law) LLM (Juris Doctor) MPPM BArch (Hons)
Dr Brydon Wang is an author, lawyer and scholar researching the trustworthy regulation of technology. He is passionate about trustworthy data governance and how we can increase trustworthiness in decision-making around the design and deployment of technology in our cities. Brydon focuses on benevolent data structures and how our cities can be made smarter and more resilient to climate change. He is dually-qualified in law and architecture and practised as a technology and construction lawyer with global top-tier firm Allens Linklaters. He also has a previous career in architecture and contract administration on award-winning construction projects, and with his experience in construction law, Brydon has more than twenty years in the construction industry.
Research Projects
Selected Projects
The Role of Trustworthiness in Automated Decision-Making Systems and the Law
Ocean Governance &
Floating Cities:
Public trust and the exercise of regulatory authority over inshore and offshore marine environments
Brydon's most significant publication to date is a co-edited collection on Large Floating Structures (Springer 2015), which ranks globally as the top Offshore Engineering Book of 78 books (Book Authority). According to Google Scholar, the edited collection has been cited in 81 publications. His research on floating structures and its societal impacts has also been cited in the Routledge Companion to Ecological Design to support the assertion of a critical need for amphibious buoyant architecture. His research has high impact in this area and Brydon is internationally recognised.
Brydon's work on regulation of automation and data-focused technologies in the construction industry ‘discerns targeted scenarios for potential application of software, AI, and algorithms as monitoring and even regulatory entities…. it is grounded in an understanding of the social context of these forms of decision-making technology. This discussion does a deft end-run around dominant scholarly literatures on AI explainability, to instead insist on the involvement in and accountability of persons’.
- Professor Frank Pasquale,
Expert on the law of AI, algorithms and machine learning
Brooklyn Law School
Automating Trustworthiness in Digital Twins
Brydon's co-written book chapter on ‘Automating trustworthiness in digital twins’ was cited in ‘A Digital Twin Trust Framework for Industrial Application’ as part of the Proceedings of the Design Society (Cambridge University Press). His research on digital twins and its deployment in smart city was cited in Philosophy & Technology (Springer). Brydon has also written on the regulatory frameworks for the automated city for the Centre for Digital Built Britain, University of Cambridge.
Trustworthy Seams in Urban Seeing: Regulatory Tension between Visibility & Privacy in Dataveillance practices
Brydon is currently researching visibility regimes and how we can exercise power in more trustworthy ways when choosing how to direct transparency processes to make data subjects or collection practices visible. Read also about Brydon's submissions on a raft of privacy law reforms currently being considered at both Federal and State levels in Australia: the sole-authored submission on the Australian Data Strategy; the co-authored Issues Paper Submission on positioning Australia as a leader in digital economy regulation: Automated Decision-making and AI regulation; and the co-authored submission on the proposed changes to the Queensland Information Privacy and Right to Information Framework. Brydon’s co-authored article ‘Implementing COVIDSafe: The role of trustworthiness and information privacy law’ was cited in an article analysing AI risks in AI and Ethics (published by Springer) and in an article analysing the trade-off between personal privacy and public safety in Law in Context.
Emerging Legal Issues around Automation and Datafication of the City
Brydon was lead editor of Automating Cities: Design, Construction, Operation and Future Impact (Springer 2021). This book is held in 161 libraries in 19 countries. His article ‘Addressing financial fragility in the construction industry through the blockchain and smart construction contracts’ explained the use of smart contracts to automate the performance of legal obligations (particularly payment mechanisms) on construction projects. This legal paper has interdisciplinary impact and has been cited in reputable journals dealing with building and construction, specifically Automation in Construction (Q1), and International Journal of Construction Management (Q2). His co-authored book chapter on ‘3D printing and housing: intellectual property and construction law’ was cited in the revised seventh edition of Property Development (Taylor & Francis) and in an article examining Industry 4.0 of 3D printing in construction projects in Project Leadership and Society (Elsevier).
