Richmond Journal of Law and Technology

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OTA: The Government’s Favorite Tool for Acquiring Innovative Technology

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On February 11, 2026

In Blog Posts

OTA: The Government’s Favorite Tool for Acquiring Innovative Technology

By: Hunter Conetta

Technological innovation has rapidly become a core feature of national security policy for the United States. The Department of Defense and armed services have prioritized the acquisition of everything from online data collection programs to AI-integrated weapons systems in order to outpace the innovation of adversaries and develop dynamic cyber capabilities. This awakening may best be exemplified in a memo issued by the Secretary of Defense, who wrote, “software-defined warfare is not a future construct, but the reality we find ourselves in today.”[1] The Secretary of Defense is not alone in his belief, as a host of executive branch and legislative officials are enacting policies and making laws to enable the expedited acquisition of software and technology.

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AI and Inventorship: Navigating the Uncertain Future of Patent Law

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On February 5, 2026

In Blog Posts

AI and Inventorship: Navigating the Uncertain Future of Patent Law

By: Lara Miller

The expanding role of artificial intelligence (AI) in society has been accompanied by significant concerns and unanswered questions across numerous sectors. One sector in which these questions have become particularly apparent is the patent system, where AI’s influence has begun to challenge longstanding doctrinal foundations. The patent law system was designed to provide exclusive rights to inventors for their novel, useful, and non-obvious inventions.[1] One of the primary requisites needed to obtain a patent is that the applicant must be the actual inventor of the invention that they are trying to get patented.[2] As a result of the increasing use of AI during the inventive process, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been confronted with numerous questions and challenges about how AI-assisted inventions should be treated.

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

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On January 28, 2026

In Blog Posts

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]

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

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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]

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

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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]

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Who is Responsible in an Accident Involving a Car With Autonomous Driving Features?

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On June 29, 2025

In Blog Posts

Who is Responsible in an Accident Involving a Car With Autonomous Driving Features?

By: Bo Li

Advanced driver assistance systems (“ADAS”) are technological features designed to improve vehicle driving safety.[1] These systems improve safety and reaction time to potential hazards through warning and automated systems.[2] With 42,514 people dying in motor vehicle crashes in 2022, many of which were related to human error, ADAS can not only help keep drivers and passengers safe, but also protect other drivers and pedestrians.[3] Tesla’s Autopilot is an ADAS that improves the safety and convenience of driving, and when used properly, can reduce the overall workload of the driver.[4] In 2021, many other manufacturers also offered ADAS, with at least 97 models featuring adaptive cruise control with lane-centering steering.[5]

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Increased IRS Tracking of Cryptocurrency: Form 1099-DA

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On June 29, 2025

In Blog Posts

Increased IRS Tracking of Cryptocurrency: Form 1099-DA

By: Elise Norotsky

Beginning January 1, 2025, cryptocurrency will have its first form of standardized reporting, the form 1099-DA, Digital Asset Proceeds From Broker Transactions.[1] The form reports gross proceeds and gain, loss and cost-basis information and is filed by brokers dealing with digital assets, such as Coinbase, Kraken, or Gemini.[2] Prior to its enactment, the lack of standardized reporting made the realm difficult to efficiently audit, and thus regulate. This significant shift in how digital assets like cryptocurrencies and NFTs are taxed aligns digital asset reporting with traditional financial and tax reporting practices.[3] While it makes certain aspects easier for investors, taxpayers with digital assets should expect an uptick in audits and investigations in addition to complexities introduced by new rules for computing gains and losses, determining cost basis, and applying backup withholding.[4] Additional problems arise for those holding previously unreported crypto, foreign exchanges, and real estate transactions involving digital assets.[5]

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Automated License Plate Readers in Virginia

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On April 12, 2025

In Blog Posts

Automated License Plate Readers in Virginia

By: John Peaden

Cameras are ubiquitous. You speed through a traffic light near Washington, D.C. and receive a speeding ticket in the mail. You drive through an EZ Pass Lane and get a photo captured of your car which then bills your account.

Unbeknownst to most, however, is that 167 law enforcement agencies across Virginia are now using public-facing surveillance technology such as Automatic License Plate Readers (“ALPR”) and gunshot listening devices.[1] ALPRs collect and retain data on a vast number of vehicles, regardless of whether the driver or any occupants are engaged in criminal activity.[2] This data can be used to track a vehicle in real time or analyzed to identify individual movements and patterns of behavior.[3]

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The Environmental Crisis: How Social Media is the Turning Point Needed to Drive Change

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On March 31, 2025

In Blog Posts

The Environmental Crisis: How Social Media is the Turning Point Needed to Drive Change

By: Kaelynn Wallace

Our way of life is deteriorating both our health and the habitability of our planet, yet we remain indifferent.[1] The methods by which our global society produces food, utilizes land and water, travels, consumes energy, and manages a growing population have all contributed to these environmental shifts.[2] Environmental change is alteration of the environment that can be driven by both natural processes and human activities.[3] These changes lead to climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion.[4] The consequences of these changes can be seen right now.[5] Global temperatures are rising, with the rate of warming accelerating three times as fast as it did in 1982.[6] Nearly the entire global population now lives in areas where the air quality exceeds guidelines, contributing to the premature deaths of 6.7 million people annually.[7] Since 1970, the global wildlife population has declined by an average of 68%, and one million species are currently at risk of extinction.[8] Furthermore, in the past five decades, global resource extraction has tripled.[9]

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