SHELVING FREEDOM: WHAT NEVADA STANDS TO LOSE IF IT STARTS ENACTING BOOK BANS; Las Vegas Weekly, October 17, 2024

Amber Sampson , Las Vegas Weekly; SHELVING FREEDOM: WHAT NEVADA STANDS TO LOSE IF IT STARTS ENACTING BOOK BANS

"With tensions mounting so close to home, some have wondered if Nevada might start banning books next. Alexander Marks, director of strategy for the Nevada State Education Association, says it’s highly unlikely.

“I think the right people are getting into trusteeships. The right people are getting into the Legislature. These are not issues that are on the tops of a lot of parents’ minds,” says Marks. “A lot of times, this is just certain politicians or parent groups trying to distract or fuel fear. They’re the Moms for Liberty folks just intent on dividing citizens by challenging books that represent marginalized and oppressed peoples.

“But when it comes down to it, when folks are casting their votes, that’s not where Nevada citizens are at.”

Nevada remains one of the few states in the country currently without a book ban, but there are efforts in place. Moms for Liberty, a political group that gained traction during the pandemic, has adamantly fought to ban books. Two CCSD school board candidates—Lorena Biassotti and Lydia Dominguez—were once tied to a local chapter of Moms for Liberty but have since distanced themselves.

In the last year, Washoe County in Northern Nevada has been the target of an aggressive number of book challenges, facing off against anti-LGBTQ activists, religious leaders and parents—all in the vocal minority. 

“Do parents have the right to monitor and select or disagree with certain materials? Of course they do,” Marks says. “But it’s inappropriate for them to do that for everybody and everyone else’s kids.

“There are a lot of dangerous attempts to stoke fears, rewrite history, diminish folks’ stories, whitewash injustices, and that prevents educators from challenging our students to live in a more equitable society,” he continues.

Much is at stake when it comes to banning the voices of our communities. For one, you’re silencing “a whole demographic,” Luster says, and dooming future generations to repeat the mistakes of our forebears. Children also run the risk of losing quality education. And by denying students access to different worlds, cultures and stories, they’re in danger of losing much more than that."

Moms for Liberty shares 2025 agenda, doubling down on libraries; Alabama Political Reporter, October 16, 2024

JACOB HOLMES, Alabama Political Reporter; Moms for Liberty shares 2025 agenda, doubling down on libraries

"The Moms for Liberty Alabama chapters have released a 2025 agenda, pursuing the passage of several pieces of legislation that failed in 2024.

The group is pushing once again to prohibit libraries from distributing materials that are sexually explicit or “developmentally inappropriate” to minors. This includes books with certain LGBTQ+ content, particularly books that support transgender concepts.

Rep. Arnold Mooney, R-Indian Springs, has already pre-filed legislation, House Bill 4, that would redefine material “harmful to minors” and create a process for librarians to face misdemeanor charges if they fail to respond to patron complaints. The bill has 50 Republican sponsors in the House, which all but assures its quick passage to the Senate. 

The group is also pursuing to expand Alabama’s ban on instruction of LGBTQ+ content in schools through 12th grade. Rep. Mack Butler, R-Rainbow City, worked with the group last year to bring that bill, which also would have banned teachers from having any kind of pride flag or sticker on display on school grounds. The bill was amended to extend only through eight grade, but failed to pass through the Senate last session."

‘It’s not me, it’s just my face’: the models who found their likenesses had been used in AI propaganda; The Guardian, October 16, 2024

 Manisha Ganguly, The Guardian; ‘It’s not me, it’s just my face’: the models who found their likenesses had been used in AI propaganda

"These videos are fake. They were generated with artificial intelligence (AI) developed by a startup based in east London. The company, Synthesia, has created a buzz in an industry racing to perfect lifelike AI videos. Investors have poured in cash, catapulting it into “unicorn” status – a label for a private company valued at more than $1bn.

Synthesia’s technology is aimed at clients looking to create marketing material or internal presentations, and any deepfakes are a breach of its terms of use. But this means little to the models whose likenesses are behind the digital “puppets” that were used in propaganda videos such as those apparently supporting Burkina Faso’s dictator. The Guardian tracked down five of them."

York County Libraries halt new purchases of books with sexual content for 17 and under; WCNC, October 15, 2024

Julie Kay , WCNC; York County Libraries halt new purchases of books with sexual content for 17 and under

"York County Library Board of Trustees has decided to halt purchasing any books for minors that include any sexual content. 

The decision, made in a heated special meeting Wednesday night, is a change from their original statement. 

Board Chair Anne Witte previously posted that they would halt purchasing all books for children, until "further clarification and guidance is received from the state regarding Proviso 27.1 and until the Attorney General makes a ruling providing libraries with guidance for collection development.""

Californians want controls on AI. Why did Gavin Newsom veto an AI safety bill?; The Guardian, October 16, 2024

Garrison Lovely, The Guardian; Californians want controls on AI. Why did Gavin Newsom veto an AI safety bill? 

"I’m writing a book on the economics and politics of AI and have analyzed years of nationwide polling on the topic. The findings are pretty consistent: people worry about risks from AI, favor regulations, and don’t trust companies to police themselves. Incredibly, these findings tend to hold true for both Republicans and Democrats.

So why would Newsom buck the popular bill?

Well, the bill was fiercely resisted by most of the AI industry, including Google, Meta and OpenAI. The US has let the industry self-regulate, and these companies desperately don’t want that to change – whatever sounds their leaders make to the contrary...

The top three names on the congressional letter – Zoe Lofgren, Anna Eshoo, and Ro Khanna – have collectively taken more than $4m in political contributions from the industry, accounting for nearly half of their lifetime top-20 contributors. Google was their biggest donor by far, with nearly $1m in total.

The death knell probably came from the former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, who published her own statement against the bill, citing the congressional letter and Li’s Fortune op-ed.

In 2021, reporters discovered that Lofgren’s daughter is a lawyer for Google, which prompted a watchdog to ask Pelosi to negotiate her recusal from antitrust oversight roles.

Who came to Lofgren’s defense? Eshoo and Khanna.

Three years later, Lofgren remains in these roles, which have helped her block efforts to rein in big tech – against the will of even her Silicon Valley constituents.

Pelosi’s 2023 financial disclosure shows that her husband owned between $16m and $80m in stocks and options in Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Nvidia...

Sunny Gandhi of the youth tech advocacy group Encode Justice, which co-sponsored the bill, told me: “When you tell the average person that tech giants are creating the most powerful tools in human history but resist simple measures to prevent catastrophic harm, their reaction isn’t just disbelief – it’s outrage. This isn’t just a policy disagreement; it’s a moral chasm between Silicon Valley and Main Street.”

Newsom just told us which of these he values more."

Fact check: John Deere says Trump’s story about how he saved US jobs with a tariff threat is fictional; CNN, October 16, 2024

 Daniel Dale, , CNN; Fact check: John Deere says Trump’s story about how he saved US jobs with a tariff threat is fictional

"When former President Donald Trump was challenged at a Tuesday event about the potential economic harms of his proposal for across-the-board tariffs on imported goods, Trump told what sounded like a tariff success story.

He said that in response to his threat to impose hefty tariffs on John Deere if the storied American farm equipment maker went ahead with a plan to move some production from the US to Mexico, the company had just announced it was likely abandoning that outsourcing plan.

Trump said: “Are you ready? John Deere, great company. They announced about a year ago they’re gonna build big plants outside of the United States. Right? They’re going to build them in Mexico … I said, ‘If John Deere builds those plants, they’re not selling anything into the United States.’ They just announced yesterday they’re probably not going to build the plants, OK? I kept the jobs here.”

But a search of news articles and corporate press releases showed nothing about any such John Deere announcement the day prior. And in response to Trump’s story, a John Deere spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News that it had not changed its plans or announced any such changes.

The Trump campaign did not respond to a CNN request for any evidence for the former president’s story.

Trump has told numerous fictional tales in recent weeks. Aside from the John Deere story, the Republican presidential nominee made at least 19 false claims at the Tuesday event, which was a public interview at the Economic Club of Chicago that was conducted by John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News...

Guns and the Capitol riot: Trump, speaking of rioters at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, repeated his false claim that “not one of those people had a gun.” It has been proven in court that multiple rioters had guns – in addition to stun guns, knives, chemical sprays and numerous other weapons...

The size of the Capitol riot: Trump correctly noted that the Washington, DC, rally he addressed prior to the Capitol riot was peaceful, but then wrongly described the size of the riot, saying, “I don’t know what you had – five, six, seven hundred people – go down to the Capitol.”

Trump’s figures are way off. The Justice Department said in an official update earlier this month that about 1,532 defendants had, so far, been federally charged with crimes associated with the attack on the Capitol. The FBI said in 2021 that “approximately 2,000 individuals are believed to have been involved with the siege” and the actual number might well be hundreds higher...

Who pays tariffs: Trump repeated his false claim that, through tariffs, “We got hundreds of billions of dollars just from China alone.” US importers make the actual tariff payments, not China, and study after study has found that Americans bore the overwhelming majority of the cost of Trump’s tariffs on China."

Columbia Cancer Surgeon Notches 5 More Retractions for Suspicious Data; The New York Times, October 16, 2024

Benjamin Mueller, The New York Times; Columbia Cancer Surgeon Notches 5 More Retractions for Suspicious Data

"The chief of a cancer surgery division at Columbia University this week had five research articles retracted and a sixth tagged with an editor’s note, underscoring concerns about research misconduct that have lately bedeviled Columbia as well as cancer labs at several other elite American universities.

With the latest retractions, the Columbia lab, led by Dr. Sam Yoon, has had more than a dozen studies pulled over suspicious results since The New York Times reported in February on data discrepancies in the lab’s work.

The retracted studies were among 26 articles by Dr. Yoon and a more junior collaborator that a scientific sleuth in Britain, Sholto David, revealed had presented images from one experiment as data from another, a tactic that can be used to massage or falsify the results of studies.

Dr. Yoon’s more junior collaborator, Changhwan Yoon, no longer works in the lab, Columbia said in response to questions on Wednesday. But the university has said little else about what, if anything, it has done to address the allegations.

Since the Times article in February, Dr. Yoon’s name has been changed from Sam Yoon to S. Sunghyun Yoon on a Columbia website advertising surgical treatment options."

SC's book ban regulation is in effect. School librarians are caught in the crossfire.; The Post and Courier, October 16, 2024

Anna B. Mitchell and Valerie Nava Mitchell , The Post and Courier; SC's book ban regulation is in effect. School librarians are caught in the crossfire

Computer scientist speaks of effects of AI on humanity; Allied News, October 15, 2024

HAILEY ROGENSKI , Allied News; Computer scientist speaks of effects of AI on humanity

"What role will we let artificial intelligence play in our lives, and what effect will AI have on religion and the world? Can it replace human roles that require empathy?

Dr. Derek Schuurman, a Christian computer scientist from Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Mich., delved into those issues Oct. 7 at Grove City College in the college’s Albert A. Hopeman Jr. Memorial Lecture in Faith & Technology.

Schuurman, is a member of the American Scientific Affiliation and adviser for AI and faith, a contributor to the Christian Scholars Review blog, a columnist for the Christian Courier and an author of Shaping the Digital World: Faith, Culture and Computer Technology and a co-author of A Christian Field Guide to Technology for Engineers and Designers...

“I think at that point we have to get back to that question and say, ‘what does it mean to be human?’” Schuurman said. “What does it mean to be made in the image of God? What does that imply for certain types of relationships and work about having a human doing that, because we choose to have someone who can actually have empathy for us, someone who’s words can be influenced and shaped by the holy spirit speaking into our lives. There’s certain roles that require empathy, care (and) wisdom.”

Schuurman said he thinks some roles that require this kind of empathy, such as being a pastor or teacher, will remain untouched by AI.

He said the best way to use AI is to maintain a “hybrid approach” where “people do what people do well and machines do what machines do well.”"

Houston-area library moves Indigenous history book to fiction section; Lonestar Live, October 14, 2024

Ileana Garnad, Lonestar Live; Houston-area library moves Indigenous history book to fiction section

"A Houston-area public library reclassified a nonfiction children’s book about Native American history as fiction, after the title was reviewed by citizens, not librarians.

“I can only assume it is because it is a telling of the history of Indigenous people that they do not approve of,” said Teresa Kenney, a Montgomery County resident and founder of the Village Books store.

In September, “Colonization and the Wampanoag Story,” by Linda Coombs, was challenged in Montgomery County libraries by an unknown person, according to public records obtained by Kenney. Per county policy, the book was reviewed by a group of five citizens who weren’t required to consult a librarian...

The group’s meetings are closed to the public, so it is unclear why the book was reclassified as fiction. Details about the reconsideration committee, including its members, are not available on the county and library system websites."

What's Next in AI: How do we regulate AI, and protect against worst outcomes?; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 13, 2024

EVAN ROBINSON-JOHNSON , Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; What's Next in AI: How do we regulate AI, and protect against worst outcomes?

"Gov. Josh Shapiro will give more of an update on that project and others at a Monday event in Pittsburgh.

While most folks will likely ask him how Pennsylvania can build and use the tools of the future, a growing cadre in Pittsburgh is asking a broader policy question about how to protect against AI’s worst tendencies...

There are no federal laws that regulate the development and use of AI. Even at the state level, policies are sparse. California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a major AI safety bill last month that would have forced greater commitments from the nation’s top AI developers, most of which are based in the Golden State...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai made a similar argument during a visit to Pittsburgh last month. He encouraged students from local high schools to build AI systems that will make the world a better place, then told a packed audience at Carnegie Mellon University that AI is “too important a technology not to regulate.”

Mr. Pichai said he’s hoping for an “innovation-oriented approach” that mostly leverages existing regulations rather than reinventing the wheel."

The Alarming History Behind Trump’s “Bad Genes” Comments; The Hastings Center, October 15, 2024

Daphne O. Martschenko , The Hastings Center; The Alarming History Behind Trump’s “Bad Genes” Comments

"The former president’s latest comments about immigrants bringing “bad genes” into the United States are part of a longer, racialized history in which claims about genetic difference have been used to further social divisions, explain social inequalities, and justify racial violence. Specifically, such claims have been used to resist the abolition of slavery, prohibit interracial marriage, forcibly sterilize the poor and communities of color, restrict immigration, and even rationalize mass-shootings...

The scientific community has challenged pseudoscientific justifications for hate before. While scientists can be wary of getting involved in politics, our research has the potential to disprove the harmful ideas being wielded by political actors. However, it also carries the risk of being misused in support of such ideas.

We must make it harder for scientific research to be wielded by those looking to create social divisions. For instance, some scientists have recommended altering scientific figures so that they are harder to “meme-ify,” and do not convey the false message that humanity is made up of biologically distinct populations. As another example, scientists have taken up the difficult task of reimagining how biology is taught in schools. Research shows that teaching students about the complexity of genetics can reduce noxious and incorrect beliefs about race and genetics.

We also need to do a better job of understanding the perspectives of those we do not agree with or who don’t orbit in the same circle. Scientists aren’t trained in mediation and conflict resolution, research communication, or public engagement. But their work extends beyond the lab and into society where it has real impacts. The next generation of scientists ought to be trained in these things. Otherwise, we risk regress rather than progress."

Millions of people are creating nude images of pretty much anyone in minutes using AI bots in a ‘nightmarish scenario’; New York Post, October 15, 2024

 Brooke Kate, New York Post; Millions of people are creating nude images of pretty much anyone in minutes using AI bots in a ‘nightmarish scenario’

"Online chatbots are generating nude images of real people at users’ requests, prompting concern from experts who worry the explicit deepfakes will create “a very nightmarish scenario.”

A Wired investigation on the messaging app Telegram unearthed dozens of AI-powered chatbots that allegedly “create explicit photos or videos of people with only a couple clicks,” the outlet reported. Some “remove clothes” from images provided by users, according to Wired, while others say they can manufacture X-rated photos of people engaging in sexual activity.

The outlet estimated that approximately 4 million users per month take advantage of the deepfake capabilities from the chatbots, of which there were an estimated 50. Such generative AI bots promised to deliver “anything you want about the face or clothes of the photo you give me,” Wired reported."

Anyone Can Turn You Into an AI Chatbot. There's Little You Can Do to Stop Them.; Wired, October 15, 2024

Megan Farokhmanesh, Lauren Goode, Wired; Anyone Can Turn You Into an AI Chatbot. There's Little You Can Do to Stop Them.

How Do You Make Ethical Decisions? 15 Leaders Reveal Their Approaches; Forbes, October 15, 2024

 Bruce Weinstein, Ph.D., Forbes; How Do You Make Ethical Decisions? 15 Leaders Reveal Their Approaches

"In honor of this year’s Global Ethics Day, a celebratory event created by the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, I asked 15 leaders from business, law, education and the arts how they make ethical decisions.

These successful professionals are from the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, the United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Australia, and South Africa. This is how they responded...

Since Global Ethics Day was created by the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, I give the last word to its president, Joel H. Rosenthal.

True north

“When considering a course of action, I ask: What is my true north? What am I willing (and not willing) to do to achieve a goal, and how might those whom I respect judge my actions? It’s impossible to get ethical choices right all the time, and I’ve found that it’s essential to balance conviction with humility in any decision-making process. Most importantly, I try to remain open to reflection and correction along the way.”

Joel H. Rosenthal, President, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, New York, New York"

His daughter was murdered. Then she reappeared as an AI chatbot.; The Washington Post, October 15, 2024

Daniel Wu , The Washington Post; His daughter was murdered. Then she reappeared as an AI chatbot.

"Jennifer’s name and image had been used to create a chatbot on Character.AI, a website that allows users to converse with digital personalities made using generative artificial intelligence. Several people had interacted with the digital Jennifer, which was created by a user on Character’s website, according to a screenshot of her chatbot’s now-deleted profile.

Crecente, who has spent the years since his daughter’s death running a nonprofit organization in her name to prevent teen dating violence, said he was appalled that Character had allowed a user to create a facsimile of a murdered high-schooler without her family’s permission. Experts said the incident raises concerns about the AI industry’s ability — or willingness — to shield users from the potential harms of a service that can deal in troves of sensitive personal information...

The company’s terms of service prevent users from impersonating any person or entity...

AI chatbots can engage in conversation and be programmed to adopt the personalities and biographical details of specific characters, real or imagined. They have found a growing audience online as AI companies market the digital companions as friends, mentors and romantic partners...

Rick Claypool, who researched AI chatbots for the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen, said while laws governing online content at large could apply to AI companies, they have largely been left to regulate themselves. Crecente isn’t the first grieving parent to have their child’s information manipulated by AI: Content creators on TikTok have used AI to imitate the voices and likenesses of missing children and produce videos of them narrating their deaths, to outrage from the children’s families, The Post reported last year.

“We desperately need for lawmakers and regulators to be paying attention to the real impacts these technologies are having on their constituents,” Claypool said. “They can’t just be listening to tech CEOs about what the policies should be … they have to pay attention to the families and individuals who have been harmed.”

FEMA resumes door-to-door visits in North Carolina after threats tied to disinformation; AP, October 15, 2024

MAKIYA SEMINERA AND SARAH BRUMFIELD, AP; FEMA resumes door-to-door visits in North Carolina after threats tied to disinformation

"Federal disaster personnel have resumed door-to-door visits as part of their hurricane-recovery work in North Carolina, an effort temporarily suspended amid threats that prompted officials to condemn the spread of disinformation."

Trump Lashes Out at Live Fact-Checks During Disaster of an Interview; The New Republic, October 15, 2024

Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, The New Republic ; Trump Lashes Out at Live Fact-Checks During Disaster of an Interview

"Donald Trump’s sit-down interview Tuesday with the Economic Club of Chicago went completely off the rails as the Republican presidential nominee struggled to offer concrete answers to a business-minded crowd, and miraculously performed even worse as he was fact-checked live onstage."