数字时代法学研究进路的审视与展望

Review and Prospect of the Approach to Legal Research in the Digital Age

回顾近年来法学理论研究与制度探索,先前被完全排斥在传统法学研究范畴之外的数据、技术等客体,均在信息技术创新应用的大背景下进入法学研究的视野,法律与信息技术的互动也就此全面展开。针对个人信息保护、数据安全、网络安全等新兴议题,国内学者纷纷提出“数字法学”“网络法学”“计算法学”“人工智能法学”等学科范式,尤其在新文科建设背景下,各大高校开始尝试性探索“法律+技术”的学科群建设思路。然而,在这“百花齐放”式学科繁荣背后,也有部分学者开始反思此种现象是否可能造成法学研究重心的偏离以及学科范式的异化,因为学科交叉、跨学科研究并不简单等同于“引入技术原理介绍”“从定性研究转变为定量研究”等模式,过度强调技术的潜在风险有可能泛化法学学科独立的研究范围。为了扫清本体论和方法论的研究障碍,我们不妨从主要争议点切入,审视与重构数字时代法学研究应然的研究进路。

Looking back on the theoretical research and institutional exploration of law in recent years,objects such as data and technology,which were previously completely excluded from the scope of traditional legal research,have entered the perspective of legal research under the background of innovative application of information technology,and the interaction between law and information technology has been fully explored.In response to emerging issues such as personal information protection,data security,and network security,domestic scholars have also proposed disciplinary paradigms such as“digital law”,“network law”,“computational law”,and“artificial intelligence law”.Especially in the context of the construction of new liberal arts,major universities have begun to explore the idea of constructing a“law+technology”discipline group on a trial basis.However,behind the prosperity of“a hundred flowers blossoming”disciplines,some scholars have begun to reflect on whether this phenomenon may cause the deviation of the focus of legal research and the alienation of disciplinary paradigms.Because interdisciplinary research does not simply equate to“introducing technical principles”and“transforming qualitative research into quantitative research”,overemphasizing the potential risks of technology may generalize the independent research scope of legal disciplines.In order to clear the research obstacles of ontology and methodology,it is advisable to examine and reconstruct the research approach of legal research in the digital age from the main controversial points.