Brian’s book is a profound meditation on the privilege of making mistakes. Addiction, for example, is not a mistake or choice per se, but does involve frequently catastrophic mistakes and choices. Whether these lead to homelessness is largely shaped by economic forces beyond individual control.

Excellent piece on the "Commercial off the shelf" or COTS exceptions the tech industry is constantly looking to expand.

Congress is on the verge of passing the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Its failure to right-size industry’s role in developing AI for national security purposes could have lasting repercussions, writes Brennan Center Liberty and National Security Program senior counsel Amos Toh.

My analysis of the AI provisions in the annual defense policy bill - good, weird, and just bad - is up on @techpolicypress.bsky.social. www.techpolicy.press/the-good-bad... Thanks @justinhendrix.bsky.social for the nudge and assist!

1/ The AI provisions in the annual defense policy bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), need more attention. They will shape AI’s impact on national security for decades to come. Here’s the good, the just plain weird, and the really really bad:

And here's the @hrw.org report on algorithmic exploitation @lenasimet.bsky.social and I published in May: www.hrw.org/report/2025/...

The affordability crisis is an inequality crisis. When prices spike in key sectors, it's not just inflation—it's a massive redistribution shock that hits poor households hardest. In our **new working paper**, we identify the sectors that matter most. A thread 🧵 scholarworks.umass.edu/entities/pub...

Vitally important call by @mawaldman.bsky.social @brennancenter.org for Congress to investigate Trump’s boat strikes. A critical unanswered question is how the military’s growing arsenal of surveillance and targeting technology is implicated. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/o...

Thread 🧵🧵🧵👇👇👇 Happy to share that @iveydyson.bsky.social and I have a report out today on the use of AI-driven data fusion tools by police departments. 1/23 www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

OUR @wsj.com OPED: The AI bubble debate misses what's already happening: a massive gov bailout, fast-tracked infrastructure, guaranteed contracts & regulatory exemptions. AI firms get a taxpayer-funded insurance policy that dot-com companies could only dream of. www.wsj.com/opinion/you-...

The provisions in this year's NDAA changing how the military acquires and tests weapons would increase waste and undermine the Pentagon’s ability to discern the proper role of emerging technologies like AI in filling capability gaps, write @amostoh.bsky.social and Julia Gledhill.

Here’s my analysis of NSPM-7 & the antifa EO. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

The military already wastes billions on subpar weapons. What's stopping it from doing the same with AI? If defense contractors have their way, almost nothing. My deep dive into the wild and wacky world of "acquisition reform" with @juliagledhill.bsky.social: www.lawfaremedia.org/article/how-...

NEW: Internal report reveals DHS intelligence portal was accidentally opened to tens of thousands of users for months, exposing sensitive intel about Americans. @brennancenter.org obtained the docs. @wired.com has the story. 🧵 www.wired.com/story/a-dhs-...

THREAD: This morning, President Trump and members of his cabinet announced a set of sweeping, unprecedented, and unwarranted actions to impose federal control over local policing in Washington, D.C.

@amostoh.bsky.social explains what the new AI EO is really about: “These restrictions feign a commitment to truth and impartiality while expecting tech companies to fall in line with the administration’s version of reality.”

According to my @brennancenter.org colleague @sreynolds.bsky.social, DHS' secretive intelligence arm "analyzes contents of phones or laptops seized by agencies like CBP and ICE, comparing them with personal data to create detailed pictures of people, their social networks, and their habits"

Essential reading on border surveillance tech, its human impact, and the risk it will move inward. As part of this apparatus, a U.S. Intelligence Community element helps CBP analyze the phones and laptops it seizes at the border. I spoke with the author about the activity's lax rules and risks.

A more comprehensive analysis for @brennancenter.org of how the Trump administration's latest AI policy could leave us more divided and less informed: www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...

1/ Yesterday, the Trump administration announced its AI Action Plan - a pillar of which is an executive order that vows to end federal procurement of “woke AI.” The order would not only chill speech but also make the technology more unreliable and untrustworthy. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

The United States sued Los Angeles over its sanctuary laws, which direct agencies not to help federal immigration enforcement. The suit follows others, and threats to cut funding and prosecute local officials. These actions violate the Constitution: 1/ www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...

1/ The government is fielding AI to gather intelligence, patrol borders, and fight wars. My latest in @lawfaremedia.org explains how Congress should step up its scrutiny of the ways taxpayer dollars are spent on acquiring and developing these systems: www.lawfaremedia.org/article/narr...

New Op-Ed from me and @smw.bsky.social in the @nytimes.com today! We discuss how the rush to implement AI within national and defence infrastructure (including in weapons) may in fact threaten, rather than preserve, US national security. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/o...

Incredible news out of the White House this morning and hope the Biden administration continues to grant more clemency to thousands whose sentences continue to be disproportionately long www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-roo...