Author archives

Understanding the LLM Bubble

American Affairs, Spring 2026. Vol. X, Issue 1. Understanding the LLM Bubble [ungated PDF] Hubert Horan. The current debate on the existence of an “AI bubble” centers on a single question: is the current high level of investment into AI data centers a massive misallocation of capital or the key to future economic growth? The …

Subjects: AI, Economy, Financial System

The archivist preserving decaying floppy disks

PopSci – It’s a race against time (and magnetic decay) to preserve decades of cultural history stored on obsolete hardware: “Few nostalgic artifacts capture the spirit of the early personal computing era as clearly as the humble floppy disk. Introduced in the early 1970s, these chunky rectangles became the default way to store and transfer …

Subjects: E-Records, Education, Knowledge Management, Libraries

Metadata Exposes Authors of ICE’s ‘Mega’ Detention Center Plans

Wired [no paywall] – “Comments and other data left on a PDF detailing Homeland Security’s proposal to build “mega” detention and processing centers reveal the personnel involved in its creation. A PDF that Department of Homeland Security officials provided to New Hampshire governor Kelly Ayotte’s office about a new effort to build “mega” detention and …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

Trump’s properties remain an epicenter of his conflicts and corruption in second term

CREW: “In the year since Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office, he has already racked up an astonishing number of conflicts of interest from the businesses that he owns and profits from as president. While everyday Americans continue to struggle to cover the rising costs of housing, groceries, utilities and other regular expenses, Trump’s …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System, Freedom of Information, Legal Research

10 Hacks Every YouTube User Should Know

Lifehacker: “For all its faults as a platform, YouTube’s video player functionality is easily among the best online. It streams reliably to almost every device you can think of, in your choice of both video quality and playback speed. But it’s the array of hidden features and interface tricks that push it over the edge …

Subjects: Education, Internet

Shifting Sands, A Cautionary Tale – AI in Courts

Shifting Sands, A Cautionary Tale Feb 23, 2026. Judge Scott Schlegel, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal. On February 13, 2026 – OpenAI retired GPT 4o from ChatGPT. That is a normal product change for a consumer platform. For courts, it is a useful reminder about what we are really doing when we build tools on top …

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

From AI tools to Prince Andrew’s arrest: How newsrooms are digging into the Jeffrey Epstein files

Reuters Institute: “Over 3.5 million documents, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos. The Jeffrey Epstein files, released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in several tranches, constituted a disclosure of rare magnitude. This trove of documents opened a window into the ecosystem surrounding a powerful, well-connected convicted child sex offender.  The release offered journalists an …

Subjects: AI, Censorship, E-Mail, E-Records, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

The Kremlin Banned These Books. You Can Find Them in a New York Library

The New York Times Gift Article: “Millions of banned books were smuggled into the Soviet Union in the 20th century — often in small batches, hidden in deliberately mislabeled containers, packed in food tins or tampon boxes and, in at least one case, tucked into a child’s diaper. Soviet tourists visiting Western Europe brought mini-volumes …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Education, Free Speech, Legal Research, Libraries

These Tools Say They Can Spot AI Fakes. Do They Really Work?

The New York Times Gift Article: “Content generated by artificial intelligence has become so lifelike that it’s often impossible to tell whether a video or an image floating through social media is real or fake. Enter the A.I. detector. More than a dozen online tools claim they can tell the difference between what’s real and …

Subjects: AI, E-Records, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research