Richmond Journal of Law and Technology

The Implications of Artificial Intelligence for Creators and the Role of the Fair Use Doctrine

By: Georgina Michelle

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an increasingly integral part of life, with many benefits that ease daily tasks.[1] These developments are viewed simultaneously as a leap forward in human innovation and ingenuity by proponents, and as a stifling of creativity by opponents.[2] On one hand, the use of AI tools can lead to greater efficiency, leaving redundant tasks to be completed on autopilot, creating space and allotting time for projects that require greater effort.[3] On the other hand, the rise of AI unleashes a host of ethical and moral dilemmas, issues regarding personal privacy, and various forms of cybercrime.[4] Among these ethical issues grows the increasing concern for protecting intellectual property, with opponents calling for the prevention of content farming by AI in order to optimize its operation.[5]

Calls for Change: How Interactive Voice Response Technology Aims to Eliminate Harmful Traditional Practices in Ethiopia

By Donovan Sbiroli

On January 28, 2026

In Blog Posts

Calls for Change: How Interactive Voice Response Technology Aims to Eliminate Harmful Traditional Practices in Ethiopia

By: Reagan Steirn

Advocacy efforts in the prevention of child marriage and female genital mutilation (“FGM”) in Ethiopia have increased with the testing and implementation of Interactive Voice Response (“IVR”) technology.[1] With 40% percent of girls married before the age of eighteen and 65% percent of women and girls aged 15-49 having undergone FGM[2], IVR technology aims to strengthen young girls’ knowledge and skill sets in the opposition of these harmful traditional practices.[3] IVR allows for the delivery of information, such as the life skills training programme, to reach girls without the need for a live agent by utilizing either pre-recorded messages or text-to-speech technology with a dual-tone multi-frequency (“DTMF”) interface.[4] While interactive in nature, IVR technology requires minimum literacy.[5] The goal of IVR is to equip adolescents with the tools needed to oppose child marriage and FGM, understand the generational impacts of these harmful traditional practices, become informed about support services for targeted individuals, and encourage increased reporting of such incidents.[6]

AI In The C-Suite: Rethinking Director Reliance Under DGCL § 141(e) In The Age of Algorithms

By Donovan Sbiroli

On January 21, 2026

In Blog Posts

AI In The C-Suite: Rethinking Director Reliance Under DGCL § 141(e) In The Age of Algorithms

By: Chelsea Marie Mojica

We now live in an Age of Algorithms where algorithmic machines are seen as “a kind of glue binding the world together through reliable pathways of mathematics and symbolic logic.”[1] With just a push of a button, artificial intelligence (“AI”) can mimic human functions, gather data and make a prediction, and generate various outputs.

Although many believe that modern AI began its development in the mid 1900s[2], AI use has significantly increased within the past few years. Notably, in 2022, a small research laboratory, famously known as OpenAI, released its first version of ChatGPT, an AI chatbot that can answer questions, develop emails, and everything in between.[4] In 2025, OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman announced that “more than 800 million people use ChatGPT every week.”[5] Professionals are using AI in various ways. Among the many users are UK Judges, who have the ability to use ChatGPT as a supplement to write judgments.[6] Two lawyers, Peter LoDuca and Steven A. Schwartz, “submitted non-existent judicial opinions with fake quotes and citations created by the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT, then continued to stand by the fake opinions after judicial orders called their existence into question.”[7] As a result, the two attorneys were sanctioned and required to each pay $5,000 to the client they represented.[8]

Virtual Infidelity: Is Cheating with an AI Girlfriend Considered Adultery?

By Donovan Sbiroli

On November 28, 2025

In Blog Posts

Virtual Infidelity: Is Cheating with an AI Girlfriend Considered Adultery?

By: Carolyn Potts

Her, a film about a man who falls in love with a virtual assistant, was released in 2013.[1] When the movie came out, virtual affairs may have seemed like science fiction, but now, twelve years later, “virtual infidelity” has become a harsh reality for a growing number of couples. For many people, Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) is seen as a tool to answer questions or to manage tasks, but for some, it provides a sense of romantic companionship. Platforms generating AI girlfriends are experiencing a massive growth in popularity, with millions of users.[2] While most of these searches are initiated by young single men, many users engaging in relationships with AI chatbots are married to real life people.[3] The recent rise in AI love affairs begs the question, how do these virtual relationships factor in to divorce cases?

How Would Drones Piloted by A.I. Affect Our Fourth Amendment Rights?

By Donovan Sbiroli

On November 28, 2025

In Blog Posts

How Would Drones Piloted by A.I. Affect Our Fourth Amendment Rights?

By: Joseph Coyle

In January 2025, drone manufacturer Red Cat announced a partnership with Palladyne AI to integrate Palladyne Pilot AI software into Red Cat’s Black Widow drones.[1] These drones are designed to be able to identify, prioritize, and track targets with little to no human direction.[2] Red Cat first unveiled the Black Widow drone in 2024.[3] These drones are already in use in the United States Military.[4] The Black Widow drone is fitted with a GPS system, camera, electro-optical sensors, infrared sensors, and has a flight time of over forty-five minutes.[5]

Labubu vs. Lafufu: Pop Mart’s Battle for IP Protection and the Tech Behind Authenticity Verification

By Donovan Sbiroli

On November 28, 2025

In Blog Posts

Labubu vs. Lafufu: Pop Mart’s Battle for IP Protection and the Tech Behind Authenticity Verification

By: Anneliese McInnis

Labubus, the grinning, wide-eyed plush dolls, have grown exponentially in popularity among young Americans, capturing their hearts and wallets. The collectible doll generally retails for $20 to $30, but rarer figures sell for thousands; the most expensive Labubu sold for $150,000 at an auction in Beijing.[1] Pop Mart has capitalized on their popularity by introducing the viral “blind-box” model that fuels suspense in customers eager to find out which Labubu doll they will unwrap.[2] This unique model, however, has made the company susceptible to counterfeit products on the market copying the plush dolls’ distinct features.[3]

International Crackdown on the Illegal Streaming of Sporting Events

By Donovan Sbiroli

On November 12, 2025

In Blog Posts

International Crackdown on the Illegal Streaming of Sporting Events

By: Jack Brestel

What Happened?

Streameast, the world’s largest illegal sports streaming platform, was shut down September 3, 2025 by the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a global antipiracy group.[1] The website had 80 domains and received over 1.6 billion visits in the last year.[2] Streameast provided access to NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, boxing, MMA, motorsports, and various professional soccer matches.[3] ACE is a coalition of over 50 global media and entertainment organizations, including Amazon, Apple TV+, Netflix, and Paramount, that operate alongside law enforcement, including Europol and the U.S. Department of Justice, to reduce online piracy of copyrighted material.[4] In this case, two men in Egypt were arrested on suspicion of copyright infringement with authorities seizing laptops and smartphones believed to have helped operate the piracy websites as well as links to a shell company in the United Arab Emirates that allegedly conspired to launder over 6 million dollars.[5]

Smart Contracts: What are they, and how do they integrate into contract law and a business’s toolkit?

By Donovan Sbiroli

On November 12, 2025

In Blog Posts

Smart Contracts: What are they, and how do they integrate into contract law and a business’s toolkit?

By: Skylar Shafer

The legal world is coming to terms with a digital revolution, with several key advancements in areas such as transformers for language models (ChatGPT) and blockchain (cybersecurity and cryptocurrency). One byproduct of these advancements has been the introduction of smart contracts, particularly correlated with the introduction of blockchain. Smart contracts are self-executing pieces of software that automatically and autonomously implement contractual terms on a peer-to-peer and immutable basis, when certain conditions are met.[1] To simplify this definition, smart contracts are fully digital contracts, secured through blockchain technology, that automatically enact clauses of a contract based on digital inputs. For example, a smart contract could verify the transit of goods from one place to another using digital inputs such as GPS or official online documents, and then automatically making payment and fulfilling a contract based on the completion of those conditions. [2]

U.S. Business Practices Oppose Effective Crackdown on “Spoofing” Scams

By Nicholas Guy

On November 10, 2025

In Blog Posts

U.S. Business Practices Oppose Effective Crackdown on “Spoofing” Scams

By: Ian Lipka

In 2020, Indian national Hitesh Madhubhai Patel was sentenced to twenty years in prison and almost $9 million in restitution for crimes relating to online and telephone scams he owned and organized.^[1] Patel funded and ran India-based call centers that defrauded U.S. victims out of somewhere between $25 million and $65 million from 2013-2016.^[2] While Patel’s conviction was certainly a victory for the Justice Department, the issue of online and telephone scams has dramatically increased since Patel’s sentencing five years ago. The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) concluded that U.S. victims lost $16.6 billion in 2024 from online and telephone scams—compared to just shy of $4 billion in 2020.

Citizens are fraudulently deprived of their money now more than ever. And while criminal prosecutions are effective in their own right, the international nature of these scams makes it extremely difficult for countries to stifle them.^[4] Most scammers operate overseas and are therefore often beyond the jurisdiction of the victim nation.^[5]

Almost four out of every five adults in the U.S. view online/telephone attacks as a major national problem.^[6] Countermeasures are needed, but solving the issue of international scamming is not so simple. The problem may be better addressed by tackling the contributing smaller issues gradually. One such issue primed for change is known as “spoofing.”