Visiting Scholars Forum

"Centralization through Automation?" a talk presented by Emil Krude (PhD student at Freigburg University). This talk is presented as part of the weekly Visiting Scholar Forum series, at which visiting scholars present their work-in-progress to peers from around the world.

Tuesday, February 17, 2026
12:30 PM to 1:45 PM
WJW 103

Abstract:
To have an impact on reality, laws must be administered. Traditionally, this task has been carried out by numerous civil servants who interpret and apply the law to individual cases, exercising discretion based on their own judgment of justice. In the automated state of the 21st century, however, many administrative procedures can be administered entirely automatically, particularly through the deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Thus, the once highly fragmented process of implementing the law in practice now culminates in a single decision on which software is to be employed nationwide. Automation of administrative procedures could therefore usher in a new era of unitary (Presidential) Administration, potentially eliminating any opportunities for cooperative federalism through the involvement of states.

Emil Krude is a PhD student at Freiburg University (Germany), researching federalism and the protection of fundamental rights. He holds law degrees from Freiburg and Cambridge and spent a year at the University of Glasgow as an undergraduate Erasmus student. Alongside his doctoral studies, he works as a research assistant to Prof. Dr. Susanne Baer, LLM (Michigan), at Humboldt University Berlin. His research interests include comparative constitutional law, administrative law, and the law of the European Union. Title: Centralization through Automation?