Day archives: June 25th, 2025

Anthropic destroyed millions of print books to build its AI models

Follow-up to previous post, Copyrighted books to train AI? Fair. Storing them? Not so much, via Ars Technica: “On Monday, court documents revealed that AI company Anthropic spent millions of dollars physically scanning print books to build Claude, an AI assistant similar to ChatGPT. In the process, the company cut millions of print books from …

Subjects: AI, Copyright, Courts, E-Records, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries

House Republicans Advance Plan to Halve GAO’s Funding

Follow-up to House Bill Would Lay Waste to Congress’s Watchdogs and Information Experts, again via Daniel Schuman, House Republicans Advance Plan to Halve GAO’s Funding: “Monday evening, House Legislative Branch appropriators voted 6 to 4 on party lines to cut GAO’s funding by 50% and reduce the Library of Congress’s funding by 12%. This would …

Subjects: Censorship, Congress, E-Government, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

AI Overviews Reduce Clicks by 34.5%

ahrefs.blog: “Google says AI Overviews increase clicks. Cold, hard logic disagrees, and so does our research. We analyzed 300,000 keywords and found that the presence of an AI Overview in the search results correlated with a 34.5% lower average clickthrough rate (CTR) for the top-ranking page, compared to similar informational keywords without an AI Overview. …

Subjects: AI, Education, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Search Engines

Climate.gov Didn’t Fit Trump’s “Gold Standard”

SciLight – Climate.gov Didn’t Fit Trump’s “Gold Standard.” Dismantling climate.gov is not an accident; it is a blueprint. Jacob Carter. Well, I didn’t expect confirmation so soon, but we now know how this administration will be using the “gold standard science” executive order (EO) and the subsequent OSTP guidance: to undo science that is politically …

Subjects: Censorship, Climate Change, E-Government, E-Records, Economy, Education, Environmental Law, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Housing, Legal Research, Search Engines, Transportation

Project 2025 Tracker – many goals and objectives met quickly

“Project 2025 Tracker began as a humble spreadsheet created by /u/rusticgorilla, combined with /u/mollynaquafina‘s vision for making this information accessible to everyone through a dedicated website. What started as a passion project by two Redditors has grown into a community-driven resource, powered by people like you who believe in the importance of transparent, detailed analysis.” …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, E-Government, E-Records, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries

U.S. Copyright Office Replaces Online Public Catalog with Copyright Public Records System

“Today, the U.S. Copyright Office is pleased to announce that the Copyright Public Records System (CPRS) has replaced its Online Public Catalog. CPRS provides copyright registration and recordation data with advanced search capabilities, filters, and improved interfaces for public users and Office staff. CPRS is the second component of the Office’s Enterprise Copyright System (ECS) …

Subjects: Copyright, E-Government, E-Records, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Search Engines

Speak Up for Justice Forum, “Global Threats to the Justice System: A Warning to America

WHAT: Speak Up for Justice Forum, “Global Threats to the Justice System: A Warning to America.” A powerful, nonpartisan international forum where judges who’ve lived through authoritarian crackdowns will share urgent warnings about what happens when courts are attacked—and how it signals a broader collapse of democracy. Featuring rare remarks by U.S. Supreme Court Justice …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

See Vaccine Recommendations Backed by Science in These Handy Charts

Scientific American – These graphics will guide you through science-based vaccine guidelines for children and adults – “Vaccines are a marvel of modern medicine: the carefully tested and regulated technologies teach people’s immune systems how to fight off potentially fatal infections, saving both lives and health care costs. But for as long as vaccines have existed, …

Subjects: Health Care, Medicine

A.I. Is Starting to Wear Down Democracy

The New York Times no paywall – “Since the explosion of generative artificial intelligence over the last two years, the technology has demeaned or defamed opponents and, for the first time, officials and experts said, begun to have an impact on election results. Free and easy to use, A.I. tools have generated a flood of …

Subjects: AI, Censorship, Civil Liberties, E-Records, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research

Amazon’s Ring can now use AI to ‘learn the routines of your residence’

The Register: “Ring doorbells and cameras are using AI to “learn the routines of your residence,” via a new feature called Video Descriptions. It’s part of Amazon’s — really, all of the tech giants are doing this — ongoing effort to stuff AI into everything it makes. This particular feature will use generative AI to …

Subjects: AI, E-Records, Legal Research, Privacy