Rebecca Crootof
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Profile
Rebecca Crootof’s primary areas of research include technology law, international law, and torts; her written work explores questions stemming from the iterative relationship between law and technology, often in light of social changes sparked by increasingly autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, cyberoperations, robotics, and the Internet of Things. She is interested in the ways legal regimes respond to and shape technological development, particularly in the armed conflict and national security context.
Dr. Crootof earned a B.A. cum laude in English with a minor in Mathematics at Pomona College; a J.D. at Yale Law School; and a PhD at Yale Law School, where she graduated as a member of the first class of PhDs in law awarded in the United States. Her dissertation, Keeping Pace: New Technology and the Evolution of International Law, discusses how technology fosters change in the international legal order, both by creating a need for new regulations and by altering how sources of international governance develop and interact. She has published with the Cornell Law Review, the Duke Law Journal, the Harvard National Security Journal, the New York University Law Review, the Pennsylvania Law Review, the Vanderbilt Law Review, the Virginia Journal of International Law, the Yale Journal of International Law, and the Yale Law Journal; and she has written for Just Security, Lawfare, Lawfire, and Slate.
Dr. Crootof served as a law clerk for the late Judge Mark R. Kravitz of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut and for Judge John M. Walker, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She is an affiliated fellow of the Information Society Project at Yale Law School; she consults for the Institute for Defense Analyses; she is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of National Security Law and Policy and is an Associate Editor on AI and the Law for the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research; and she is a member of the Center for New American Security's Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and National Security. Dr. Crootof has also served as a member of the Equal Rights Center’s Board of Directors and of the Permanent Mission of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the United Nations' Council of Advisers on the Application of the Rome Statute to Cyberwarfare.
She enjoys skiing, hiking, and reading science fiction "for work."Expand All-
Presentations
"Training and Readiness for Ethical, Legal and Social Implications of Human-AI Teaming, ," 2024 I/ITSEC conference, I/ITSEC (December 2024)
"AI and National Security," AI Law & Policy course, George Washington School of Law (October 2024)
"Crafting (and Drafting) a Positive Agenda for Stability in Cyberspace Workshop," Crafting (and Drafting) a Positive Agenda for Stability in Cyberspace Workshop, Cybersecurity Tech Accord (October 2024)
"Identifying Risks," ICRC Private Workshop, International Committee of the Red Cross (October 2024)
"Private ICRC Workshop," International Committee of the Red Cross (October 2024)
"Working Group on AI Agents Session II," Partnership on AI (September 2024)
"Human-in-the-Loop for AI and Public Benefits Workshop," Center for Democracy & Technology and Benefits Tech Advocacy Hu (September 2024)
"Ethical and Legal Considerations," Human Weapon System Summit, Human Weapon System Summit (September 2024)
"Working Group on AI Agents Session I," Partnership on AI (September 2024)
"AI, Robotics, and National Security: Ethics & Strategy," Federal Supernova, (August 2024)
"Ethical, Legal, and Societal Implications of Emerging Technologies at DARPA," IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology, (July 2024)
"Rebecca Crootof on AI, DARPA, and the ELSI Framework," Lawfare Daily, (July 2024)
"JILSA Job Market Office Hours," Junior International Law Scholars Association (July 2024)
"CIGI-GC REAIM Symposium Day," CIGI-GC REAIM Symposium Day, Center for International Governance Innovation and the Global Commission on Responsible Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain (GC-REAIM), (July 2024)
"Integrating ELSI," Voices from DARPA Ep. 79, DARPA (May 2024)
"Introducing ELSI," Voices from DARPA Ep. 78, DARPA (April 2024)
"Agentic AI Workshop," CSET (March 2024)
"Artificial Intelligence and New Legal Questions," 54th Annual Criminal Law Seminar, (February 2024)
"Artificial Intelligence and New Legal Questions," 54th Annual Criminal Law Seminar, (February 2024)
"Regulating the Use of AI on the Battlefield," Congressional Study Group on Foreign Relations and National Security, Brookings Institution (December 2023)
"Stand Tall for the Rule of Law," American Society of International Law (December 2023)
"AI System Failure Workshop," Stockton Center for International Law, Naval War College (December 2023)
"Collective Countermeasures in Cyberspace, Roundtable II," Chatham House (November 2023)
"Remote Repossession," SixthJunior Faculty Forum for Law and STEM, Stanford University School of Law (October 2023)
"War Torts," International Law and Private Law: A Dialogue, Harvard Law School (October 2023)
"Hot Topics in the Law," A Century of Women, University of Richmond School of Law (October 2023)
"Humans in the Loop," AI: Tort and Administrative Law , NYU School of Law (September 2023)
"Remote Repossession," Institute for Law, Innovation & Technology, Temple University School of Law (September 2023)
"Remote Repossession," New Torts? 29th Annual Clifford Symposium on Tort Law and Social Policy, DePaul University College of Law (June 2023)
"Remote Repossession," Junior Faculty Forum, Richmond Law School (May 2023)
"War Torts: Addressing the Actual IHL Accountability Gap," Information Society Project, Yale Law School (February 2023)
"Regulating Space 2.0: A Playbill by Melissa J. "MJ Durkee," The Emerging Commercial Space Age: Legal and Policy Implications, Journal of Law and Innovation, University of Pennsylvania Law School (February 2023)
"Humans in the Loop," Artificial Intelligence and the Law course, (January 2023)
"National Security AI and the Hurdles to International Regulation by Ashley Deeks," Innovation & Technology Colloquium, Institute on Innovation, Law and Technology (December 2022)
"Legal Responses to Techlaw Uncertainties," Symposium on the Research Handbook on Law and Technology, (November 2022)
"Regulating Autonomous Weapon Systems," Expert Workshop on the Responsible Use of AI in Military Systems, (November 2022)
"Visions for the Development of Rules of International Law in Cyberspace," Oxford Process on International Law Protections in Cyberspace, Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict (October 2022)
"Regulating New Technologies," Centre for International Law 'Erga Omnes' (September 2022)
"Implementing War Torts," Junior International Law Scholars Association Summer Workshop, (July 2022)
"Intervention by Mohamed Helal," Junior International Law Scholars Association Summer Workshop, (July 2022)
"Countermeasures in Cyberspace," Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict (May 2022)
"War Torts," Justice in War: Accountability for Battlefield Misconduct, University of Virginia School of Law (April 2022)
"Autonomous Weapon Systems," Artificial Intelligence and the Law, University of Michigan Law School (March 2022)
"War Torts," International Law Colloquium, University of Georgia School of Law (February 2022)
"The Pivotal Role of International Human Rights Law in Defeating Cybercrime," The Law of Cyberterrorism: State Responsibility, Organized Crime, and Election Interference, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, Vanderbilt Law School (February 2022)
"Recommendations," Ensuring 'Human Responsibility' in the Development and Use of Autonomous Weapon Systems, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) (February 2022)
"Individual Criminal Responsibility," Ensuring 'Human Responsibility' in the Development and Use of Autonomous Weapon Systems, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) (February 2022)
"State Responsibility," Ensuring 'Human Responsibility' in the Development and Use of Autonomous Weapon Systems, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) (February 2022)
"Structuring Techlaw," Global Tech Law, Georgetown Law School (February 2022)
"AI and Semi-Autonomous Systems," Artificial Intelligence for Defence Security Workshop Series, Center for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) (January 2022)
Discussant, "Self-Determination Inside Out by Zohra Ahmed," Junior International Law Scholars Association Annual Meeting, University of Miami School of Law (January 2022)
"War Torts," Junior International Law Scholars Association Annual Meeting, University of Miami School of Law (January 2022)
"Test and Evaluation Best Practices," Center for New American Security (December 2021)
"Supply Chain Governance and Security for IoT Resilience," 16th Internet Governance Forum, United Nations (December 2021)
"Implementing War Torts," International Law in Domestic Courts Workshop, Cornell Law School (December 2021)
"Law and Inequity in the 1L Curriculum," University of Richmond School of Law (November 2021)
"Humans in the Loop," Fourth Junior Faculty Forum for Law and STEM, University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law (October 2021)
"Autonomous Weapon Systems," Honors Law of Armed Conflict, Roger Williams University School of Law (October 2021)
Presenter, "Positive Ransomware Obligations," The Regulation of Ransomware Operations under International Law Workshop, Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict (July 2021)
Presenter, "Answering the Cyber Oversight Call: Expanded Cyber Authorities, Insufficient Congressional Oversight, and the Role of the Department of Defense Inspector General by Amy C. Gaudion," National Security Junior Scholars Workshop, University of Florida School of Law (July 2021)
Presenter, "AI, Conflict, and the Laws of Armed Conflict," The Ethics of Automated Warfare and AI, University of Waterloo (June 2021)
Presenter, "Principles on Ethical and Responsible AI in Defence II," Principles on Ethical and Responsible AI in Defence II, Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict & Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (March 2021)
Presenter, "Principles on Ethical and Responsible AI in Defence I," Principles on Ethical and Responsible AI in Defence I, Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict & Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (March 2021)
Presenter, "Autonomous Weapon Systems and the Limits of Analogy," AI & Law Colloquium, UC Irvine School of Law (March 2021)
Moderator, "A Conversation with Chinyere Ezie," Law, Race, and Power Speaker Series, (March 2021)
Panelist, "Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Warfighting: A Dialogue," 26th Annual National Security Law Conference, Center on Law, Ethics and National Security, Duke Law School (February 2021)
Presenter, "War Torts: State Liability for Unintended Civilian Harms," Faculty Colloquium, Temple University School of Law (February 2021)
Presenter, "Distinguishing Techlaw," Ideas Lunch, Information Society Project, Yale Law School (January 2021)
Presenter, "Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Weapon Systems, and Accidents in War," DILEMA Lecture Series, Asser Institute (December 2020)
Panelist, "Responsible Artificial Intelligence in Defense: Legitimacy and the Use of LAWS," Responsible Artificial Intelligence in Defense: Legitimacy and the Use of LAWS , Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (December 2020)
Panelist, "The Growing Use of Artificial Intelligence by Government in Courts and Agencies ," The Growing Use of Artificial Intelligence by Government in Courts and Agencies , Silicon Flatirons, University of Colorado Law School (December 2020)
Presenter, "Structuring Techlaw," Harvard Yale Stanford Junior Faculty Forum 2020 , Stanford Law School (August 2020)
Workshop Participant, "Artificial Intelligence and International Stability," Center for New American Security & Perry World House (July 2020)
Presenter, "The Cost of Accidents in Armed Conflict," National Security Junior Scholars Workshop, University of Florida School of Law (July 2020)
Workshop Participant, "Applying International Law in Cyberspace: Protections and Prevention," Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict (June 2020)
Workshop Presenter, "Autonomous Weapon Systems," Expert Discussion, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (June 2020)
Presenter, "Structuring Techlaw," Privacy Scholars Law Conference, Georgetown Law School (June 2020)
Presenter, "The Cost of Accidents in Armed Conflict," AI Regulation Colloquium, McGill University School of Law (June 2020)
Workshop Presenter, "Draft Principles for Munitions and Weapons Systems with Autonomous Functionalities," Center for a New American Security (May 2020)
Workshop Presenter, "Technology Alliance Initiative Inaugural Workshops," Center for a New American Security (May 2020)
"Structuring Techlaw," AI and Justice in 2035, Program on Understanding Law, Science, and Evidence (PULSE), UCLA Law School (February 2020)
Presenter, "War Torts," U.S.-China Seminar on International Cooperation in Artificial Intelligence, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue & Yale Law School Paul Tsai China Center (December 2019)
Guest Lecturer, "Killer Robots Today," AI & the Law: Science Fact and Science Fiction, University of Michigan Law School (November 2019)
Guest Lecturer, "New Technologies and the Law of Armed Conflict," International Law, International Arbitration, University of Richmond School of Law (November 2019)
Panelist, "Human Dignity, Agency & Algorithmic Bias," Fordham Intellectual Property, Media, & Entertainment Law Journal Symposium, Fordham Law School (October 2019)
Presenter, "War Torts: Accountability for Autonomous Weapon Systems," Digital Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Colloquium, Fordham Law School (October 2019)
Panelist, "State and Local Privacy - Bans and Regulation," The Near Future of U.S. Privacy Law, University of Colorado Law School (September 2019)
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Memberships
Annual Meeting Program Committee Member, American Society of International Law
Technology Law Contributing Editor, Journal of Things WE Like Lots (2021 - present)
Editorial Board Member, Journal of National Security Law and Policy (2019 - present)
Council of Advisers on the Application of the Rome Statute to Cyberwarfare, Permanent Mission of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the United Nations (2019 - present)
Member of the Task Force on AI and National Security, Center for a New American Security (2018 - present)
Associate Editor on AI and Law, Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research (2017 - present)
Board of Directors, Equal Rights Center (2016 - present)
Alumni Admissions Volunteer, Pomona College (2003 - present)
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Bar Admissions
New York
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Professional Experience
Professor of Law (2024 - present)
University of RichmondAffiliate Fellow (2019 - present)
Information Society Project, Yale Law School, New Haven, CTEthical, Legal, and Societal Implications (ELSI) Visiting Scholar and Special Assistant to the Director (2024 - 2024)
Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA)Associate Professor of Law (2022 - 2024)
University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, VALegal and Ethical Consultant (2018 - 2024)
Institute for Defense Analyses, Joint Advanced Warfighting Division, Alexandria, VAAssistant Professor (2019 - 2022)
University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, VAVisiting Faculty Fellow (2021 - 2022)
Nebraska Governance and Technology CenterExecutive Director (2016 - 2019)
Information Society Project, Yale Law School, New Haven, CTResearch Scholar and Lecturer in Law (2016 - 2019)
Yale Law School, New Haven, CTPart-Time Acting Instructor (2015 - 2016)
Yale Law School, New Haven, CTClerk to the Hon. John M. Walker Jr. (2012 - 2013)
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, New Haven, CTClerk to the Hon. Mark Kravitz (2011 - 2012)
U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, New Haven, CT
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Presentations
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Publications
Journal Articles
Remote Repossession, 73 DePaul L. Rev. (2024).
Humans in the Loop, 76 Vanderbilt Law Review 429 (with W. Nicholson Price et al.) (2023).
Implementing War Torts, 63 Virginia Journal of International Law 320 (2023).
War Torts, 97 New York University Law Review 1063 (2022).
Structuring Techlaw, 34 Harvard Journal of Law & Technology 343 (with BJ Ard) (2021).
The Internet of Torts: Expanding Civil Liability Standards to Address Corporate Remote Interference, 69 Duke Law Journal 583 (2019).
"Cyborg Justice" and the Risk of Technological-Legal Lock-In, 119 Columbia Law Review Forum 233 (2019).
Autonomous Weapon Systems and the Limits of Analogy, 9 Harvard National Security Journal 51 (2018).
International Cybertorts: Expanding State Accountability in Cyberspace, 103 Cornell Law Review 565 (2018).
A Meaningful Floor for "Meaningful Human Control", 30 Temple International & Comparative Law Journal 53 (2016).
Change Without Consent: How Customary International Law Modifies Treaties, 41 Yale Journal of International Law 237 (2016).
Consent is Not Enough: Why States Must Respect the Intensity Threshold in Transnational Conflict, 165 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 1 (with Oona Hathaway) (2016).
War Torts: Accountability for Autonomous Weapons, 164 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 1347 (2016).
War, Responsibility, and Killer Robots, 40 North Carolina Journal of International Law and Commercial Regulation 909 (2015).
The Killer Robots Are Here: Legal and Policy Implications, 36 Cardozo Law Review 1837 (2015).
Constitutional Convergence and Customary International Law, 54 Harvard International Law Journal Online 195 (2013).
The Law of Cyber-Attack, 100 California Law Review 817 (with Oona Hathaway) (2012).
Which Law Governs During Armed Conflict? The Relationship Between International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law, 96 Minnesota Law Review 1883 (with Oona Hathaway et al.) (2012).
Judicious Influence: Non-Self-Executing Treaties and the Charming Betsy Canon, 120 Yale Law Journal 1784 (2011).
Book ChaptersLegal Responses to Techlaw Uncertainties, in Research Handbook on Law and Technology (Edward Elgar Publishing) (with BJ Ard) (2023).
Jurisprudential Space Junk: Treaties and New Technology, in Resolving Conflicts in the Law: Essays in Honour of Lea Brilmayer (Brill Nijhoff) (Chiara Giorgetti et al., eds.) (2019).
Regulating New Weapons Technology, in The Impact of Emerging Technologies on the Law of Armed Conflict (Oxford University Press) (Ronald T.P. Alcala et al., eds.) (2019).
The Varied Law of Autonomous Weapon Systems, in Autonomous Systems: Issues for Defence Policymakers (NATO Communications and Information Agency) (Paul D. Scharre et al., eds.) (2015).
Blog PostsAI Misfeasance or AI Malpractice?, JOTWELL (September 2024).
Front and Back-End Accountability for Military AI, Opinio Juris (April 2024).
Algorithmic Accountability is Even Harder Than You Thought, JOTWELL (2023).
The Case for War Torts - In Ukraine and Beyond, (Lawfare) (December 2022).
The Argument for Not Closing Accountability Gaps, JOTWELL (October 2022).
Changing the Conversation: The ICRC's New Stance on Autonomous Weapon Systems, (Lawfire) (May 2021).
The Case for "Technology Law", (Nebraska Governance & Technology Center) (with BJ Ard) (December 2020).
AI Research Needs Responsible Publication Norms, Lawfare (October 2019).
Accountability for the Internet of Torts, Law and Political Economy Blog (July 2018).
Introducing the Internet of Torts, Law and Political Economy Blog (July 2018).
An Opportunity to Change the Conversation on Autonomous Weapon Systems, Lawfare Blog (June 2017).
The DNC Hack Demonstrates the Need for Cyber-Specific Deterrents, Lawfare Blog (January 2017).
The Law of Consent-Based Interventions, Just Security (October 2016).
Weapon, Combatant, Child, Animal: They’re All Insufficient Analogies for Autonomous Weapon Systems, Just Security (September 2016).
Why the Prohibition on Permanently Blinding Lasers is Poor Precedent for a Ban on Autonomous Weapon Systems, Lawfare Blog (November 2015).
Autonomous Weapons Systems and Proportionality , Völkerrechtsblog (April 2015).
Newspaper ArticlesHear the Uighurs: The Critical Guantanamo Case the Supreme Court Should Not Duck, Slate (February 2010).
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In the News
The Technology Battlefield (Richmond Law Magazine)
Fri., Sep. 29, 2023Inside the Messy Ethics of Making War with Machines (Technology Review)
Wed., Aug. 16, 20235 Questions for Rebecca Crootof (Politico)
Fri., Dec. 16, 2022Tech Refactored Ep. 2.14 (Killer Robots and State Practice: Governing Autonomous Weapon Systems) (Tech Reactored)
Fri., Nov. 5, 2021The Case for "Technology Law" (Nebraska Governance & Technology Center)
Wed., Dec. 16, 2020What is Law and Tech? (Nebraska Governance & Technology Center)
Wed., Dec. 16, 2020Pentagon Adopts New Ethical Principles for Using AI in War (The Associated Press)
Mon., Feb. 24, 2020Pentagon to Adopt Detailed Principles for Using AI (Defense One)
Tue., Feb. 18, 2020AI is Making Literary Leaps - Now We Need the Rules to Catch Up (The Guardian)
Sat., Nov. 2, 2019How Concerned Should We Be That Deepfakes Will Mess With 2020? (NBC News)
Thu., Jun. 13, 2019 - Links