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Category Archives: Legislation

New LC Report on Safety, Security of Artificial Intelligence Systems

In Custodia Legis: “The use of artificial intelligence (AI) has increased exponentially and is permeating every aspect of our lives, from personal to professional. While it can be used in many positive ways to solve global challenges, there are also security risks to be considered, such as fundamental rights infringements, personal data security, and harmful… Continue Reading

Prioritizing People and Planet as the Metrics for Responsible AI

IEEE Standards Association – Prioritizing People and Planet as the Metrics for Responsible AI. Ethically Aligned Design for Business. “You may be aware of the term responsible artificial intelligence (AI). Perhaps you are already using a methodology for your AI design based on European regulations to avoid risk. Or you are working to help ensure… Continue Reading

Report: Surge of Intrusive Legislation to Intimidate Teachers, Drive Self-Censorship in Schools

Pen America: “A wave of state legislation sweeping the nation is creating the conditions to intimidate educators into self-censorship in schools, according to a new PEN America report released today. “Educational Intimidation: How ‘Parental Rights’ Legislation Undermines the Freedom to Learn” examines the rise of what PEN America has dubbed “educational intimidation bills,” a category… Continue Reading

Are YouTube Advertisers Inadvertently Harvesting Data From Millions of Children?

The New York Times [read free]: YouTube Ads May Have Led to Online Tracking of Children, Research Says. “YouTube’s advertising practices on kids’ channels could have resulted in companies tracking children across the web, a report said.This year, BMO, a Canadian bank, was looking for Canadian adults to apply for a credit card. So the… Continue Reading

The Corporatist Foundations of Financial Regulation

Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance. David T. Zaring is the Elizabeth F. Putzel Professor of Legal Studies & Business Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania. This post is based on his recent paper, published in the Iowa Law Review. “Nobody should feel sorry for banks, necessarily, but they labor under heavy, and in… Continue Reading

An Iowa school district is using AI to ban books

“It certainly didn’t take long for AI’s other shoe to drop, what with the emergent technology already being perverted to commit confidence scams and generate spam content. We can now add censorship to that list as the Globe Gazette reports the school board of Mason City, Iowa has begun leveraging AI technology to cultivate lists… Continue Reading

AI Causes Real Harm. Let’s Focus on That over the End-of-Humanity Hype

Scientific American Opinion: Effective regulation of AI needs grounded science that investigates real harms, not glorified press releases about existential risk. Wrongful arrests, an expanding surveillance dragnet, defamation and deep-fake pornography are all actually existing dangers of so-called “artificial intelligence” tools currently on the market. That, and not the imagined potential to wipe out humanity,… Continue Reading

How Georgia Trump indictment would differ from the federal Jan. 6 case

The Hill: “A sprawling, multi-defendant indictment. An ex-president’s trial televised for the world to watch. Potential charges typically used for organized crime.   Before charges have even been announced, the possible indictment of former President Trump in Georgia — hinging on his efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 election results to remain in power — already… Continue Reading

Congress.gov New, Tip, and Top August 2023

In Custodia Legis – August 2023 – Browse back to the First Congress: “In July, Robert shared news about the new treaty document email alerts. He also shared that we added Browse pages back to the 43rd Congress that included the Bound Congressional Record. We have done a lot of work over the recent months… Continue Reading

Severance Agreements Requiring Employees to Broadly Waive Labor Law Rights

NLRB [this dates from February 2023]: “The Board issued a decision in McLaren Macomb, returning to longstanding precedent holding that employers may not offer employees severance agreements that require employees to broadly waive their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The decision involved severance agreements offered to furloughed employees that prohibited them from making… Continue Reading