Local libraries may be the last trusted institution. As part of public information infrastructure stack, makes sense for them to play at edge by reviving local news. But it’s dangerous for trust. Hope Ann Arbor can pull it off and model it aadl.org/node/647334

First philly council hearing on public agency AI — Wed. @Councilwoman Rue Landau, @TechTonics phillytechjustice.org/hearing/

“There could be barriers to gaining information about [ai] inner workings, …or prove a poor outcome was caused by the AI system.” This is one reason developers and deployers don’t want xAI/transparency and why law should require it. As an input to accountability.

שהחיינו וקיימנו והגיענו לזמן הזה 🌻

Who is staying up all night to see every last living hostage returned home, please God? זמן שמחתנו!

Wonderful to see this out!

Toronto Film Festival cancels film about dad rescuing his daughters from Nova Festival in 10/7/23. Reason #1: filmaker didn’t get copyright license from Hamas to use GoPro footage of massacre! Reason #2: something something word salad fear of protests. Incoherent and craven.

Gotta love it. Why Is Martha’s Vineyard Going Vegan? It’s All About Tick Bites. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/d...

A hugely important verdict. The victims were pedestrians, so Tesla can't argue they knew/accepted Autopilot's risks. People walking, biking, and inside other cars didn't consent to be Elon Musk's guinea pigs.

Better link: balkin.blogspot.com/2025/07/regu...

Trump’s AI Action Plan has some good points (see also Biden EO). But they’re totally at odds with the rest of his agenda. Grid abundance (but not renewables?); surge AI labor force (but nix immigration?); grow AI diplomacy (but fire diplomatic corp?); grow deepfake forensics (but kill research?)

Love this right near Washington’s Crossing park where Washington crossed the Delaware to fight the British … inviting walkers to adorn the tree with hopes and blessings for America. Lots of “peace” “no kings” “rule of law.”

No doubt we need AI incident reporting structure. OECD is trying but too remote. EU has for high risk. If the feds cared, NTIA AI Accountability Policy report recommends it along lines of FDA. In absence, up to states + universities hai.stanford.edu/assets/files...

New from @nicole-alvarez.bsky.social and I, a new @americanprogress.bsky.social analysis of the Senate Commerce reconciliation bill’s rebranded “AI Pause,” & how contrary to the claim it’s optional for the new $500M in funding, the text implicates the entire $42.45B in BEAD broadband funding.

A moratorium on enforcement of state AI laws would presumably cover Louisiana's new rule of civil procedure to require disclosure of AI manipulation of evidence? Laws of general applicability are safe, but many like this specify AI. legiscan.com/LA/text/HB17...

See you Harvard.

Ban on state AI lawmaking survives for now in budget bill (as a condition of broadband funding), but Hawley, Blackburn and other Rs seeking to ax it in amendments. Where is utah?https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/22/moratorium-on-state-ai-regulation-clears-senate-hurdle/

www.thefp.com/p/matti-frie.... The “he” is Israeli film director of Reading Lolita in Tehran. This Matti Friedman piece imagines new horizons for Mideast peace. לו יהי

Portland OR tries personalized pricing and discounts for water by algorithmically setting rates based on credit, SNAP data etc. Social license for this kind of thing requires an algorithmic impact assessment and transparency about relative payments. redtailmedia.org/2025/06/09/l...

Cities and counties need to know water needs and set water use limits for #AI data centers. govai.substack.com/p/endless-th...

The flip side of this is an actual power-company employee could visit someone’s house to, say, check on a gas leak, and the frightened people inside won’t answer the doorbell.

Impressed with @cityofsanjose.bsky.social AI governance handbook. It jives with the NIST AI RMF, but also provides a scoring framework for responsible AI elements. Hope cities/counties will release scores also of tech they rejected. www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpub...

Working on collaborative local govt procurement of responsible AI products and services —- and struck by how many amazing city/county leaders across the country are immigrants.

Have seen a lot of Harvard commencements. Usually the Harvard prez is greeted by brief pro-forma applause. Or nothing. Or in my era, waves of protests and boos. Never heard of *anything* like the sustained standing ovation Alan Garber got today. Deserved. www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiT0...

My short piece on illegal, unwise, and counter-productive ban on state AI lawmaking in ugly House bill. With thanks to @justinhendrix.bsky.social @techpolicypress.bsky.social www.techpolicy.press/house-morato...

My beloved colleague Kim Mutcherson’s heartbreaking piece about compulsory gestation. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/24/o...

This exploration of adjudicating context and meaning with LLMs considers the questions: how is it different from clerks or from dictionaries or from the judge's own value-laden brain? It's SCALE, INSCRUTABILITY & CORPORATE CONTROL. True of all algorithmic decisionmaking.

This is a first-rate exploration of what is gained and lost when judges judge with LLMs.

This will only work at scale with use of ALPRs. Their deployment on highways etc should be subject to stringent data protection law.

Does Murphy v. NCAA (2018), the anti-commandeering case holding that the feds cannot "dictate" what states "may and may not do" render the GOP proposed ban on state AI laws unconstitutional? After all, the feds have not and won't regulate for most AI harms. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17p...

In response to a lawsuit filed by organic farmers--represented by @earthjustice.org and @knightcolumbia.org--the USDA has agreed to restore data sets and webpages that it purged illegally. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/c...

Glad to be on the same page as @jspeta.bsky.social and @ellgood.bsky.social re: Trump’s despotic attempt to shut down independent media.

“Exiled Thucydides knew All that a speech can say About Democracy, And what dictators do, The elderly rubbish they talk To an apathetic grave; Analysed all in his book, The enlightenment driven away, The habit-forming pain, Mismanagement and grief: We must suffer them all again.” Auden, Sept. 1 1939

From our @techpolicypress.bsky.social piece on synthetic media and provenance policy. We tackle the synthetic/authentic and true/false continua. www.techpolicy.press/synthetic-me...

Yes BUT the online crowd really matters now, because it participates in finding “evidence”, making things go viral, and driving or justifying calls to act. It didn’t exist during Climategate and was minimally a driver during the DNC compared to MSM (Pizzagate was a niche thing). Now it’s immense.

Trump EO orders CPB to stop funding NPR and PBS (by way of its grants to stations). CPB is a private nonprofit corp created and funded by Congress. It’s not the president’s to order. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

The White House has released a series of new AI policies that mark a sharp departure from the prior administration’s more cautious approach. (Read @ellgood.bsky.social's analysis at @techpolicypress.bsky.social)

Honored to work on this collaborative foray into provenance and authentication for synthetic media with @justinhendrix.bsky.social & Kaylee Williams. TY @knightfoundation.org @iohn.bsky.social ://techpolicy.press/synthetic-media-policy-provenance-and-authentication-expert-insights-and-questions

Every govt proceeding with thousands of comments should have a dashboard like this that synthesizes themes and recs. www.aiactionplan.org

Amazon says it won’t display price increases due to tariffs as a line item on site. Could a state require it? Probably a First Amendment compelled speech bar. It’s going to be pretty obvious anyway.

Philly’s transit is facing massive cuts. The fabled “Main Line” of Philadelphia Story is named after the SEPTA regional rail west. It too could go. A colllege student created this site savesepta.com with a great messaging integration to reps.

Here’s one “as a Jew” statement I can get behind: Harvard’s President Garber to the community explaining why the necessary fight against antisemitism in no way justifies the Administration’s illegal actions against academic freedom.

Comparing Trump's OMB AI Memo to Biden's. The accelerationists have taken the state. Gone is "procurement as policy." ellgood.medium.com/ai-accelerat...

Trump freezes about 1/3 of the $9 billion Harvard grant/contract funds under review. Says Harvard thinks civil rights laws don’t apply to it. In fact, Harvard (belatedly) has taken action on its own to address valid Title 6 concerns. Handled well. www.thecrimson.com/thread/2025/...

Harvard FTW. Say no to Trump. Says it’s cleaning its own house; rejecting federal interference as illegal and wrong. Quinn Emanuel and King & Spalding represent — notably GOP special counsel Robert Hur. VERITAS! www.harvard.edu/research-fun...