Democracy in the Balance: Public Attitudes in a Shifting Political Landscape

“In an era when “democracy” is invoked on campaign trails, cable news, and in everyday conversation—its meaning remains elusive and its political value uncertain. Many Democrats are grappling with a critical question: Is talking about democracy a winning message—or just an abstraction voters tune out?  GSG [Global Strategy Group] set out to answer this question. …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Legislation

Turns Out Appeasing Trump Only Emboldened Him

The American Prospect: “…Biden appointed a milquetoast moderate, Merrick Garland, as attorney general, and as The New York Times and Washington Post reported in detail, he initially refused to prosecute Trump on his globally televised sedition and insurrection, instead attempting a traditional organized crime roll-up that went nowhere and ate up months. It wasn’t until …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, Legal Research

A Majority of Companies Are Already Feeling the Climate Heat

Bloomberg no paywall: “Climate change is already having an impact on companies around the world. Over half of the firms surveyed in a recent Morgan Stanley report experienced the climate’s impact on operations within the past year, including increased costs, worker disruption and revenue losses. The growing financial impacts are a key reason some companies …

Subjects: Climate Change, Economy, Environmental Law, Financial System, Legal Research

Changing the Game – Algorithmic Game Theory in Ransomware Negotiations

Via LLRX –  Changing the Game – Algorithmic Game Theory in Ransomware Negotiations – Ransomware attacks are a growing threat, inflicting significant operational, financial, and reputational damage on organizations worldwide. With attackers exploiting information asymmetry, traditional game theory negotiation strategies are inadequate in minimizing these risks. This paper Jawad Ramal, by explores how Algorithmic Game Theory …

Subjects: AI, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Marketing

The Routledge History of Fashion and Dress, 1800 to the Present

Open Access, The Routledge History of Fashion and Dress, 1800 to the Present Edited by VÉRONIQUE POUILLARD and VINCENT DUBÉ-SENÉCA Via Metafilter: “Fashion through space and time” – “Wedding dress sketches (introduction) in the Lucile, Lady Duff Gordon collection, evening gowns (introduction) in the Bergdorf Goodman Custom Salon collection, Jerry Miller shoe sketches, and an …

Subjects: Search Engines

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, July 5, 2025

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, July 5, 2025 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Commerce, E-Records, Privacy, Search Engines

AI and Semantic Pareidolia: When We See Consciousness Where There Is None

Floridi, Luciano, AI and Semantic Pareidolia: When We See Consciousness Where There Is None (June 18, 2025). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5309682 – “The article introduces the concept of “semantic pareidolia” – our tendency to attribute consciousness, intelligence, and emotions to AI systems that lack these qualities. It examines how this psychological phenomenon leads us to perceive …

Subjects: AI, Copyright, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Records, Education, Intellectual Property, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Stand Up for Science

“Stand Up for Science was born in February 2025—in the wake of devastating cuts to federal research funding and infrastructure, unprecedented government censorship of scientific work, and targeted attacks on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Supported by a team of over 100 volunteers, we hosted over 30 official Stand Up for Science rallies on March …

Subjects: Censorship, Climate Change, Congress, Economy, Education, Environmental Law, Food and Nutrition, Health Care, HIV/AIDS, Medicine

AI companies start winning the copyright fight

Follow up to Anthropic destroyed millions of print books to build its AI models via The Guardian: “Last week, tech companies notched several victories in the fight over their use of copyrighted text to create artificial intelligence products. Anthropic: A US judge has ruled that Anthropic, maker of the Claude chatbot, use of books to …

Subjects: AI, Copyright, Government Documents, Intellectual Property, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Search Engines

A Pro-Russia Disinformation Campaign Is Using Free AI Tools to Fuel a ‘Content Explosion’

Wired no paywall: “Consumer-grade AI tools have supercharged Russian-aligned disinformation as pictures, videos, QR codes, and fake websites have proliferated. A pro-Russia disinformation campaign is leveraging consumer artificial intelligence tools to fuel a “content explosion” focused on exacerbating existing tensions around global elections, Ukraine, and immigration, among other controversial issues, according to new research published …

Subjects: AI, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Defense, E-Records, Privacy, Social Media