Category «Government Documents»

When the New York Times Lost its Way

The Economist, James Bennet [free to read] – America’s media should do more to equip readers to think for themselves: “…Whether or not American democracy endures, a central question historians are sure to ask about this era is why America came to elect Donald Trump, promoting him from a symptom of the country’s institutional, political …

Subjects: Economy, Education, Financial System, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

5 Takeaways From Inside the Overturning of Roe v. Wade

The New York Times – A Times investigation [read free] reveals the behind-the-scenes story of how the Supreme Court abolished the constitutional right to abortion. “By the time the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, a draft of the ruling had been leaked to the press and the outcome was anticipated. The story …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, E-Records, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research

Regulating and Monitoring AI and Social Media

Brennan Center for Justice: Regulating AI Deepfakes – “Artificial intelligence–produced video and audio can make it impossible to separate fact from fiction when deciding how to vote. Next year will bring the first presidential election of the AI deepfake era, and policymakers must be prepared to protect the democratic process from the dangers of these …

Subjects: AI, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Legislation, Privacy, Social Media

The Judiciary Has Policed Itself for Decades. It Doesn’t Work.

ProPublica: “For decades, judges have relied on a select group to make sure the judiciary adheres to the highest ethical standards: themselves. The Judicial Conference, a secretive, century-old council of federal judges led by the chief justice of the Supreme Court, oversees the ethics and financial disclosures for more than 1,700 federal judges, including the …

Subjects: Courts, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research

When authoritative sources hold onto bad data

NextGov – A legal scholar explains the need for government databases to retract information: “In 2004, Hwang Woo-suk was celebrated for his breakthrough discovery creating cloned human embryos, and his work was published in the prestigious journal Science. But the discovery was too good to be true; Dr. Hwang had fabricated the data. Science publicly …

Subjects: Education, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Patent and Trademark

The U.S. Large-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Database

“The United States Large-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Database (USPVDB) provides the locations and array boundaries of U.S. ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) facilities with capacity of 1 megawatt or more. It includes corresponding PV facility information, including panel type, site type, and initial year of operation. The creation of this database was jointly funded by the U.S. Department …

Subjects: Energy, Government Documents

FCC Closes ‘Lead Generator’ Robocall Loophole & Adopts Robotexts Rules

December 13, 2023 — “The Federal Communications Commission today adopted new rules to further protect consumers from scam communications by directly addressing some of the biggest vulnerabilities in America’s robotext defenses and closing the “lead generator” robocall/robotexts loophole. The new rules allow blocking of “red flagged” robotexting numbers, codifies do-not-call rules for texting, and encourages …

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

Judges Given the OK to Use ChatGPT in Legal Rulings

Gizmodo: “Robots may help determine your legal fate if you end up in a British court. The UK Judicial Office issued guidance Tuesday permitting judges to use ChatGPT and other AI tools to write legal rulings and perform several other tasks. “The use of Artificial Intelligence (‘AI’) throughout society continues to increase, and so does …

Subjects: AI, Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research

AI – Agencies Have Begun Implementation but Need to Complete Key Requirements

Artificial Intelligence: Agencies Have Begun Implementation but Need to Complete Key Requirements, GAO-24-105980 Published: Dec 12, 2023. Publicly Released: Dec 12, 2023. “Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the world and could improve government operations. For example, federal agencies can use AI to analyze drone photos and large datasets. But safeguards are needed to manage AI …

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

Archival Records of Congress: Frequently Asked Questions

CRS – Archival Records of Congress: Frequently Asked Questions Updated December 7, 2023 – “Congressional offices and committees receive, generate, and process many paper and digital files in the course of their work. Archivists preserve some of this historical material, which can help inform future Congresses and researchers studying congressional history. This report is intended …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

Arab Funding of American Universities: Donors, Recipients and Impact

Arab Funding of American Universities: Donors, Recipients and Impact By Mitchell G. Bard, Ph.D. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (May 2023): “…Up until 2020, the DoE paid little attention to university compliance, and institutions did not report many of the gifts. That year the DoE began to investigate whether Yale and Harvard were complying with reporting requirements. …

Subjects: Defense, Education, Financial System, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Social Media

Never-Reported Details of the Uvalde School Shooting

ProPublica: “Today, ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and the PBS series FRONTLINE are jointly publishing an in-depth examination of the response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, using a trove of raw materials from a state investigation whose findings have yet to be released. The records include investigative interviews with officers, …

Subjects: Education, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research