NYU Environmental Law Journal Annual Symposium — Promises and Perils: How Emerging Technologies Shape Animal Law and Policy

Date and Format:
The Symposium will take place on Friday, February 27, 2026, from 12:30 PM–5:00 PM EST, in the Lester Pollack Colloquium Room in Furman Hall. Remote participation via Zoom will be available. We will have light fare and refreshments available at a reception at the end of the Symposium (3:45 PM – 5:00 PM). To attend either in-person or via Zoom, please RSVP at bit.ly/ELJSymposium26. 

Overview:
Technological solutions to environmental challenges represent an increasingly dominant field of scholarly engagement, policy innovation, and legal discussion. But what major disputes and concerns really lie at the heart of this burgeoning technological-legal dynamic? This Symposium will explore themes and questions concerning rapidly evolving technologies—namely artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, and climate mitigation tech—through the lens of Animal Law. Given the far-reaching and intersectional impacts of such technology, we want to filter this event through the language of the law but include multidisciplinary perspectives on related questions. We will begin the Symposium with a Keynote Speaker, followed by two panels. The panels will include animal law philosophers, cultural anthropologists, scientists, attorneys, and policy makers, and will be moderated by a lawyer and expert in Animal Law.

Speakers:

Our Keynote Speaker is Dr. Kathrin Herrmann, who is a veterinary specialist in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics & Law (DipECAWBM, AWSEL) with a PhD in Biomedical Sciences. The first panel which will discuss the effects of technology on animal welfare on the individual and species level. The second panel will zoom out and discuss the effects of technology on animal welfare on an industry level (the food industry, etc.).

Our speakers for the first panel include Jeff Sebo, Emma Crowe, and Michael Livermore, with Pamela Frasch serving as moderator.

Our speakers for the second panel include Hank Greely, Nicole Negowetti, Elan Abrell, with Andrew Stawasz serving as moderator.

There will be an opportunity to ask speakers questions following each panel.