Author archives

UN – Unchecked AI progress may pose catastrophic risks

“The Preliminary Report of the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI: Evidence-based assessment of opportunities, risks and impacts of AI is a first-of-its-kind independent scientific assessment of the capabilities, emerging opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence. The Panel, composed of independent scientists and experts from all 5 UN regions, outlines trends in AI. It’s central warning: …

Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, Climate Change, Economy, Environmental Law, Financial System, Knowledge Management

The Declaration of Independence, America at 250 and Past Centennials

Internet Archive Blogs: “As America celebrates its Semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) this year, explore a curated list of materials preserved at the Internet Archive documenting the nation’s founding, the Declaration of Independence, past ephemera created for the nation’s anniversaries, and new efforts to capture and preserve the materials published by democracies. Democracy’s Library – The Internet …

Subjects: Education, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

The cost of being American

Brookings Institute: As the country heads into its 250th birthday this weekend, more than 40% of American households are struggling to make ends meet, and the reasons why look different depending on where you live, what you drive, and how you get to work. To understand why, Brookings researchers delved into the details—how the rising …

Subjects: Climate Change, Congress, Economy, Energy, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Transportation

They built the world’s most powerful AI. They’re facing a mystery they can’t explain.

Washington Post – no paywall: “Anthropic, Google and Meta have hired computer scientists, neuroscientists and philosophers to study what some in the industry think may become a moral crisis…Although proof of AI consciousness is lacking, many in tech fascinated by the topic are already discussing the moral consequences of finding sentient software. Within decades, there …

Subjects: AI, Health Care, Internet, Knowledge Management, Social Media

Trump Wants YOUR Medical Data for His Drug War

Zeteo: “The Trump administration’s new drug strategy does more than escalate the war on fentanyl. It sketches the architecture for a national surveillance system built from some of Americans’ most personal data: prescriptions, toxicology results, wastewater, electronic health records, license plate scans, and law enforcement intelligence. The plans are laid out in the 2026 National …

Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, E-Records, Health Care, Legal Research, Privacy

Reckoning with the Political Economy of AI: Avoiding Decoys in Pursuit of Accountability

Reckoning with the Political Economy of AI: Avoiding Decoys in Pursuit of Accountability. Authors: Janet Vertesi, danah boyd, Alex S Taylor, Benjamin ShestakofskyAuthors Info & Claims. FAccT ’26: The 2026 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency. Pages 2186 – 2205. https://doi.org/10.1145/3805689.3806739. Published: 25 June 2026 “The Project of AI is a world-building endeavor, wherein …

Subjects: AI, Congress, Data Governance, Legal Research, Legislation

Kew’s State of the World’s Plants and Fungi 2026 report

Eurekalert: “AI and digitization transform fight against global extinction, landmark report reveals. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew’s State of the World’s Plants and Fungi 2026 report reveals the true scale of the biodiversity crisis has not yet been fully understood, but rapid data and technology advances offer hope. In a seismic shift since Kew’s inaugural State …

Subjects: AI, Climate Change, Environmental Law, Internet, Knowledge Management, Search Engines

Faith, Freedom, Family, Place – An Ethnographic Study of Conservative Americans’ Relationships to Democracy

The SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University & ReD Associates: “This report is for practitioners, funders, researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders who are interested in rebuilding the fabric of American public and political life. Specifically, we aim to explore how conservative Americans relate to democracy in the present moment, and understand why some have …

Subjects: Legal Research