Day archives: January 16th, 2025

The Ethics of Advanced AI Assistants

Google DeepMind – “First, because LLMs display immense modeling power, there is a risk that the model weights encode private information present in the training corpus. In particular, it is possible for LLMs to ‘memorise’ personally identifiable information (PII) such as names, addresses and telephone numbers, and subsequently leak such information through generated text outputs …

Subjects: AI, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Privacy

What Homeowners Insurance Actually Covers

Lifehacker: “While Los Angeles County continues to battle devastating wildfires, you may be wondering about the safety of your own home. More specifically, how are you covered when the unthinkable happens? Unfortunately, insurance doesn’t function like a gas or electric company; even in the face of disaster, insurers aren’t obligated to service your home. And …

Subjects: Climate Change, Environmental Law, Housing

Map: How big are the LA fires? Use this tool to overlay them atop where you live

CalMatters is joining with our public media partners at PBS SoCal, LAist and KCRW to bring you reliable, essential, free information to support people affected by the wildfires and keep all Californians up to date. Sign up for the Daily Wildfire Updates newsletter. “The fires sweeping across Los Angeles County for the past week have …

Subjects: Climate Change, Legal Research

FBI Warned Agents It Believes Phone Logs Hacked Last Year

Bloomberg  [unpaywalled] – “FBI leaders have warned that they believe hackers who broke into AT&T Inc.’s system last year stole months of their agents’ call and text logs, setting off a race within the bureau to protect the identities of confidential informants, a document reviewed by Bloomberg News shows. FBI officials told agents across the …

Subjects: Congress, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Toyota exposed as major funder of climate change deniers

Raw Story: “Nearly three decades after its introduction, the hybrid Toyota Prius is still associated with environmental action and the scientific consensus that fossil fuel emissions, including those from vehicles, must be reduced to avoid the worst effects of planetary heating. But a Tuesday report from watchdog group Public Citizen reveals how Toyota has spent …

Subjects: Climate Change, Congress, Environmental Law, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

FTC Finalizes Order Prohibiting Gravy Analytics, Venntel from Selling Sensitive Location Data

“The Federal Trade Commission finalized an order prohibiting Gravy Analytics and its subsidiary Venntel from unlawfully tracking and selling sensitive location data from users, including data about consumers’ visits to health-related locations and places of worship. In a complaint first announced last month, the FTC alleged that Gravy and Venntel violated the FTC Act by unfairly …

Subjects: E-Government, E-Records, Health Care, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy

Men, Women and Social Connections

“Roughly equal shares of U.S. men and women say they’re often lonely; women are more likely to reach out to a wider network for emotional support. As public debate and discussion over the status of men in America continues, some have raised concerns about men’s struggles with loneliness. A new Pew Research Center survey finds …

Subjects: Health Care, Social Media