Preparing faith leaders to prepare others to use artificial intelligence in a faithful way; Presbyterian News Service, September 4, 2025

Mike Ferguson , Presbyterian News Service; Preparing faith leaders to prepare others to use artificial intelligence in a faithful way

"It turns out an engineer whose career included stops at Boeing and Amazon — and who happens to be a person of deep faith — has plenty to say about how faith leaders can use artificial intelligence in places of worship.

Jovonia Taylor-Hayes took to the lectern Wednesday during Faithful Futures: Guiding AI with Wisdom and Witness, which is being offered online and at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis. The PC(USA)’s Office of Innovation is among the organizers and sponsors, which also includes The Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Think of all the varied ways everyday people use AI, Taylor-Hayes said, including as an aid to streamline grocery shopping and resume building; by medical teams for note-taking; for virtual meetings and closed-captioning, which is getting better, she said; and in customer service.

“The question is, what does it look like when we stop and think about what AI means to me personally? Where does your head and heart go?” she asked. One place where hers goes to is scripture, including Ephesians 2:10 and Psalm 139:14. “God has prepared us,” she said, “to do what we need to do.”

During the first of two breakout sessions, she asked small groups both in person and online to discuss questions including where AI shows up in their daily work and life and why they use AI as a tool."

World Meeting on Human Fraternity: Disarming words to disarm the world; Vatican News, September 13, 2025

Roberto Paglialonga, Vatican News ; World Meeting on Human Fraternity: Disarming words to disarm the world

[Kip Currier: There is great wisdom and guidance in these words from Pope Leo and Fr. Enzo Fortunato (highlighted from this Vatican News article for emphasis):

“Pope Leo XIV’s words echo: ‘Before being believers, we are called to be human.’” Therefore, Fr. Fortunato concluded, we must “safeguard truth, freedom, and dignity as common goods of humanity. That is the soul of our work—not the defense of corporations or interests.”"

What is in the best interests of corporations and shareholders should not -- must not -- ever be this planet's central organizing principle.

To the contrary, that which is at the very center of our humanity -- truth, freedom, the well-being and dignity of each and every person, and prioritization of the best interests of all members of humanity -- MUST be our North Star and guiding light.]

[Excerpt]

"Representatives from the world of communication and information—directors and CEOs of international media networks— gathered in Rome for the “News G20” roundtable, coordinated by Father Enzo Fortunato, director of the magazine Piazza San Pietro. The event took place on Friday 12 September in the Sala della Protomoteca on Rome's Capitoline Hill. The participants addressed a multitude of themes, including transparency and freedom of information in times of war and conflict: the truth of facts as an essential element to “disarm words and disarm the world,” as Pope Leo XIV has said, so that storytelling and narrative may once again serve peace, dialogue, and fraternity. They also discussed the responsibility of those who work in media to promote the value of competence, in-depth reporting, and credibility in an age dominated by unchecked social media, algorithms, clickbait slogans, and rampant expressions of hatred and violence from online haters.

Three pillars of our time: truth, freedom, Dignity

In opening the workshop, Father Fortunato outlined three “pillars” that can no longer be taken for granted in our time: truth, freedom, and dignity. Truth, he said, is “too often manipulated and exploited,” and freedom is “wounded,” as in many countries around the world “journalists are silenced, persecuted, or killed.” Yet “freedom of the press should be a guarantee for citizens and a safeguard for democracy.” Today, Fr. Fortunato continued, “we have many ‘dignitaries’ but little dignity”: people are targeted by “hate and defamation campaigns, often deliberately orchestrated behind a computer screen. Words can wound more than weapons—and not infrequently, those wounds lead to extreme acts.” Precisely in a historical period marked by division and conflict, humanity—despite its diverse peoples, cultures, and opinions—is called to rediscover what unites it. “Pope Leo XIV’s words echo: ‘Before being believers, we are called to be human.’” Therefore, Fr. Fortunato concluded, we must “safeguard truth, freedom, and dignity as common goods of humanity. That is the soul of our work—not the defense of corporations or interests.”"

A.I.’s Prophet of Doom Wants to Shut It All Down; The New York Times, September 12, 2025

  Kevin Roose , The New York Times; A.I.’s Prophet of Doom Wants to Shut It All Down

"The first time I met Eliezer Yudkowsky, he said there was a 99.5 percent chance that A.I. was going to kill me.

I didn’t take it personally. Mr. Yudkowsky, 46, is the founder of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, a Berkeley-based nonprofit that studies risks from advanced artificial intelligence.

For the last two decades, he has been Silicon Valley’s version of a doomsday preacher — telling anyone who will listen that building powerful A.I. systems is a terrible idea, one that will end in disaster.

That is also the message of Mr. Yudkowsky’s new book, “If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies.” The book, co-written with MIRI’s president, Nate Soares, is a distilled, mass-market version of the case they have been making to A.I. insiders for years.

Their goal is to stop the development of A.I. — and the stakes, they say, are existential...

And what about the good things that A.I. can do? Wouldn’t shutting down A.I. development also mean delaying cures for diseases, A.I. tutors for students and other benefits?

“We totally acknowledge the good effects,” he replied. “Yep, these things could be great tutors. Yep, these things sure could be useful in drug discovery. Is that worth exterminating all life on Earth? No.”"

As Political Tension Soars, Some Rare Calls for Unity Emerge; The New York Times, September 11, 2025

Jesse McKinley and Madison Malone Kircher, The New York Times ; As Political Tension Soars, Some Rare Calls for Unity Emerge

"In the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and amid a torrent of angry and accusatory reactions, there were those seeking common ground.

Groups representing young Republicans and Democrats came together in at least two states to issue statements after the killing that condemned political violence and urged people to avoid hurtful dialogue about the assassination...

“I would beg you to look in the mirror and to see if you can find a better angel in there somewhere,” Mr. Cox said, adding: “We just need every single person in this country to think about where we are and where we want to be. To ask ourselves, ‘Is this — is this it?’

Such sentiments felt like something of an exception compared with the often heated discourse on social media, where there was a flurry of apocalyptic predictions about civil war, and posts from conservative figures like Elon Musk, who said on Wednesday afternoon — about an hour after the shooting — that “The Left is a party of murder.”"

Atlantic Settles Writer’s Suit Over Article It Retracted; The New York Times, September 12, 2025

 Katie Robertson, The New York Times; Atlantic Settles Writer’s Suit Over Article It Retracted

"The Atlantic quietly agreed to pay more than $1 million early this summer to settle a lawsuit by the writer Ruth Shalit Barrett, who had accused the magazine of defamation after it took the rare step of retracting an article she had written and replacing it with an editor’s note, according to a person with knowledge of the settlement.

Ms. Barrett, who wrote an article about youth sports in wealthy areas as a freelancer for The Atlantic in 2020, sued the publication and one of its editors in January 2022. She said the outlet had smeared her reputation and asked for $1 million in damages.

Both sides agreed to resolve their dispute in mediation in April and asked for the suit to be voluntarily dismissed on June 27 when they reached a settlement, according to court documents. The Atlantic made updates to the editor’s note on the online version of the article on June 26."

Is ‘The Pitt’ Really an ‘ER’ Spinoff? Michael Crichton’s Estate Says It Is.; The New York Times, September 12, 2025

 Nicholas Kulish, The New York Times ; Is ‘The Pitt’ Really an ‘ER’ Spinoff? Michael Crichton’s Estate Says It Is.

The estate of the best-selling author, which has intellectual property rights to “ER,” and the creators of the new hit TV show are waging a legal battle over whether it’s a stealth reboot.

"On Nov. 4, the defendants asked the court to dismiss the complaint, citing their constitutional free speech rights and arguing that “The Pitt” is not a derivative work of “ER.” They emphasized that the new series is about the post-Covid world, reminding the judge that it deals with events that arose after Mr. Crichton’s death...

Rewatching “ER” through the lens of the lawsuit — as a jury might be asked to — can be a strange experience. Is the struggle over whether to put a dying elderly patient onto a ventilator a distinct plot point (this would support Team Crichton) or an everyday tragedy in a large urban hospital (Team Pitt)?

“‘The Pitt’ has no connection to ‘ER’ — it does not use ‘ER’’s intellectual property, characters, plot, setting or narrative pacing,” the defendants said. “While both series are medical dramas set in a hospital, this concept is hardly unique.” They name-checked “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Chicago Med,” “House” and “The Good Doctor.”...

The case “could serve as a model for how to figure out how much things are worth in the streaming space,” said Jennifer Porst, a professor of media industry studies at Emory University in Atlanta."

Utah’s Republican governor makes case for unity – in stark contrast with Trump; The Guardian, September 12, 2025

David Smith , The Guardian; Utah’s Republican governor makes case for unity – in stark contrast with Trump

"In a nation seemingly on the brink, they were words that Americans needed to hear – coming not from the president but a politician with civility, compassion and rhetorical grace notes.

“We can return violence with violence, we can return hate with hate, and that’s the problem with political violence – it metastasises because we can always point the figure at the other side,” said Spencer Cox, the governor of Utah. “At some point we have to find an offramp or else it’s going to get much, much worse.”

In a tone of moral urgency, Cox added: “These are choices that we can make. History will dictate if this is a turning point for our country but every single one of us gets to choose right now if this is a turning point for us.”

The governor was speaking at a press conference after announcing that authorities had arrested a suspect in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, a political activist who rallied young voters for Donald Trump, at a university campus in Utah on Wednesday.

It was an act of surging political violence in a country awash with guns, a moment that cries out for cool heads to lower the political temperature. Yet Trump wasted no time in blaming the “radical left”.

The two-term Republican governor has frequently worked with Democrats and issued pleas for bipartisan cooperation. He drew national attention with a deeply personal response to the 2016 shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub and has long espoused a vision of politics rooted in unity and respect.

That was evident in the calm, measured yet impassioned remarks that he made on Friday as the Trump-appointed FBI director, Kash Patel, looked on. “Over the last 48 hours I have been as angry as I have ever been, as sad as I have ever been,” Cox said, a tremor in his voice.

The 50-year-old governor, who has four children who are teenagers and young adults, directed some of his remarks to young people. “You are inheriting a country where politics feels like rage,” he said. “It feels like rage is the only option.”But, Cox insisted, there was a different path. “Your generation has an opportunity to build a culture that is very different than what we are suffering through right now. Not by pretending differences don’t matter but by embracing our differences and having those hard conversations.”...

Trump, however, has a history of exploiting tragedies to berate opponents and sow further division. Cox, by contrast, has been a strong advocate for civility in politics across the country. In his 2020 campaign for governor, he and his Democratic opponent appeared together in television ads pledging to “disagree without hating each other”, a highly unorthodox move.

And as chairman of the National Governors Association, he promoted civility through an initiative he called Disagree Better. He made appearances across the country with Democratic governors and other public figures to emphasise unifying values.

Frank Luntz, a political consultant and pollster, says: “Spencer Cox has been the national leader in promoting a more civil, respectful dialogue and his voice is needed now more than ever. He has said: we’re better than this, we don’t have to choose anger and, even at our angriest, we can decide to search for what is better in mankind. The vast majority of the public agrees with him.”

Luntz adds: “This is a break point for the country and thank God we have people like Cox who realise this. We may look back at this and say either this was the end of our civility and decency or the beginning of getting control back in our country where calmer minds are in charge.”"

Trump declines to call for unity after Charlie Kirk killing in stunning move; The Guardian, September 12, 2025

Ed Pilkington , The Guardian; Trump declines to call for unity after Charlie Kirk killing in stunning move

"In an interview on Fox & Friends on Friday morning, the US president was asked what he intended to do to heal the wounds of Kirk’s shooting in Utah. “How do we fix this country? How do we come back together?” he was asked by the show’s co-host Ainsley Earhardt, who commented that there were radicals operating on the left and right of US politics.

Less than 48 hours after Kirk was shot in broad daylight on the campus of Utah Valley University, Trump replied: “I tell you something that is going to get me in trouble, but I couldn’t care less.”...

Trump’s refusal to seek a common bipartisan way forward at a time of profound national anger, fear and mourning was a stunning move for a sitting US president, even by his standards.

The US has a long history of presidents using their rhetorical powers to try to overcome political fissures. The pinnacle perhaps was Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address towards the end of the civil war, in which he sought to “bind up the nation’s wounds” and made a point of striving for unity “with malice toward none, with charity for all”."

Perplexity's definition of copyright gets it sued by the dictionary; Engadget, September 11, 2025

Anna Washenko, Engadget; Perplexity's definition of copyright gets it sued by the dictionary

"Merriam-Webster and its parent company Encyclopedia Britannica are the latest to take on AI in court. The plaintiffs have sued Perplexity, claiming that AI company's "answer engine" product unlawfully copies their copyrighted materials. They are also alleging copyright infringement for instances where Perplexity's AI creates false or inaccurate hallucinations that it then wrongly attributes to Britannica or Merriam-Webster. The complaint, filed in New York federal court, is seeking unspecified monetary damages and an order that blocks Perplexity from misusing their content."

GPT-5’s Ethics Guidelines for Using It in Philosophical Research; Daily Nous, September 10, 2025

 

Justin Weinberg

, Daily Nous; GPT-5’s Ethics Guidelines for Using It in Philosophical Research

"In a post last month, we discussed the question, “How much use of AI in our research is acceptable?...

What do you think of ChatGPT-5’s three positions regarding ethical AI use in research? Are they missing anything? Are they too demanding? Are they any good?"

Books by Bots: Librarians grapple with AI-generated material in collections; American Libraries, September 2, 2025

Reema Saleh  , American Libraries; Books by Bots: Librarians grapple with AI-generated material in collections

"How to Spot AI-Generated Books

Once an AI-generated book has made it to your library, it will likely give itself away with telltale signs such as jumbled, repetitive, or contradicting sentences; glaring grammatical errors or false statements; or digital art that looks too smooth around the corners.

Of course, if you can get a digital sneak-peek inside a book before ordering, all the better. But if not, how can you head off AI content so it never arrives on your desk? The following tips can help.

• Look into who the author is and how “real” they seem, says Robin Bradford, a collection development librarian at a public library in Washington. An author with no digital footprint is a red flag, especially if they are credited with a slew of titles each year. Also a red flag: a book with no author listed at all.
• Exercise caution regarding self-published books, small presses, or platforms such as Amazon, which filters out less AI-generated content than other vendors do.
• Think about whether the book is capitalizing on the chance that a reader will confuse it with another, more popular book, says Jane Stimpson, a library instruction and educational technology consultant for the Massachusetts Library System. Does it have a cover similar to that of an existing bestseller? Just as animated Disney movies get imitated by low-budget knockoffs, popular titles get imitated by AI-generated books.
• Check if there is mention of AI use in the Library of Congress record associated with the book, says Sarah Manning, a collection development librarian at Boise (Idaho) Public Library (BPL). If the book has been registered with the US Copyright Office, its record may mention AI."

How Russia is grooming Ukraine’s children to fight for it: ‘I understood it wasn’t just play’; The Guardian, September 10, 2025

Liz Cookman, The Guardian; How Russia is grooming Ukraine’s children to fight for it: ‘I understood it wasn’t just play’

"Sonya spent a month at the Avangard camp, which has several other branches across Russia, and had sanctions imposed on it by the UK in November for its role in the forced deportation and brainwashing of Ukrainian children. She says she and other children faced a programme of activities that included being taught to dig trenches and rig them with booby traps and trip wires, load machine guns, take part in military-style formations and carry other children on their backs to simulate medical evacuations.

Similar to Soviet-era youth camps, these centres have escalated in number since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Critics say they are used to indoctrinate children to prepare them for future service in the Russian military.

Now large numbers of children from occupied regions of Ukraine are reportedly being sent alongside the young Russians. The Kremlin portrays these facilities as physical and cultural learning opportunities for children."

FBI leaders allege in lawsuit they were unlawfully fired over political loyalty; The Washington Post, September 10, 2025

Perry Stein , The Washington Post; FBI leaders allege in lawsuit they were unlawfully fired over political loyalty

"Before he was briefly named the FBI’s acting director early this year, Brian Driscoll says, he got a call from a Trump administration official who peppered him with a series of pointed questions that appeared to be a loyalty test.

Among them: “Who did you vote for?” “When did you start supporting President Trump?” “Have you voted for a Democrat in the last five elections?” “Do you agree that the FBI agents who stormed Mar-a-Lago … should be held accountable?”"

Pennsylvania’s internet connection plan submitted to feds: ‘It’s bonkers’; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 8, 2025

KRIS B. MAMULA, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ; Pennsylvania’s internet connection plan submitted to feds: ‘It’s bonkers’

"The federal government announced in June 2023 that Pennsylvania was in line for $1.16 billion in broadband expansion grants, with priority given to fiber optic cable connections, which are considered the gold standard for the internet. But in a pivot, the Trump administration dropped the fiber cable preference in March, opening the door to satellite broadband service, which researchers, including Mr. Meinrath and the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, a Wilmette, Ill.-based research nonprofit, have found lacking.

After the shift in acceptable technologies by the Trump administration, 65% of the federal Broadband Equity Access & Deployment Program funding will now pay for fiber optic connections in Pennsylvania, 18% for satellite. Fiber optic had a much larger share of the connections under previous plans.

The balance of Pennsylvania addresses will get fixed wireless connections — 13% — or hybrid fiber coaxial, 4%, thanks to BEAD funding...

“There’s a lot of roadblocks in rural America,” said Greene County Commissioners Chair Jared Edgreen. “We struggle with infrastructure throughout the county, getting the basic amenities to our communities,” including internet."

New Jersey Is the Latest State to Expand Access to Updated Covid Shots; The New York Times, September 10, 2025

Joseph Goldstein , The New York Times; New Jersey Is the Latest State to Expand Access to Updated Covid Shots

"New Jersey is following the lead of New York and several other states that are rebuffing efforts by the federal government to curtail the number of people eligible to receive the latest vaccines against the coronavirus...

The moves come amid a broader campaign that the Trump administration’s secretary for health and human services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is waging against vaccines — especially shots that use mRNA technology, which was pivotal in the development of the most popular coronavirus shots. H.H.S. has canceled nearly $500 million in federal grants and contracts to develop mRNA vaccines, and scrapped a nearly $600 million contract to develop a vaccine against the bird flu.

Mr. Kennedy’s hand-selected members of a government advisory panel also withdrew longstanding recommendations for flu shots that contain an ingredient that the anti-vaccine movement has falsely linked to autism...

In addition to New York and New Jersey, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Pennsylvania are among other states that have issued similar orders...

Several states controlled by Democrats, including California, Oregon and Washington, are exploring a range of efforts to promote all vaccines, including the formation of a health alliance that would make recommendations independent from those of the federal government."

An Essay Contest Winner Used A.I. Should She Return the $1,000 Award?; The Ethicist, The New York Times; September 10, 2025

Kwame Anthony Appiah, The Ethicist, The New York Times ; An Essay Contest Winner Used A.I. Should She Return the $1,000 Award?

[Kip Currier: This is a thought-provoking and timely ethical dilemma, especially with the proliferation of AI into more and more aspects of our personal and professional lives.

The question posed to The Ethicist in this edition of his column is about students submitting essays for a contest. The questioner wonders if the students have used AI to write their essays. The contest winners are awarded a monetary scholarship. The questioner wonders if they should confront the winners. The beauty of this question is that we don't know for sure whether AI was or was not used. It's totally speculative. What would you do?

Does your thinking change as to whether using AI to write something is ethical or unethical if: 

• AI is used by a university professor to prepare a lecture
• AI is used by a university professor to create an essay exam
• AI is used by an elementary school teacher to prepare a lesson
• AI is used by an elementary school teacher to create a multiple choice test
• AI is used by your lawyer to write the legal brief for your lawsuit
• AI is used by your lawyer's paralegal to write the legal brief for your lawsuit
• AI is used to synthesize the court's verdict by the judge deciding your case
• AI is used by a library director to compose the library's strategic plan
• AI is used by a non-profit university to compose the university's strategic plan
• AI is used by a for-profit company to compose the company's strategic plan
• AI is used by a military branch to compose a strategy for military engagement
• AI is used by a government agency to compose a strategy for national security
• AI is used by local law enforcement to compose a strategy for public safety
• AI is used by a summer camp to compose a strategy for camp safety
• AI is used by your doctor to devise the treatment plan for your relative's cancer treatment
• AI is used by a scientist to devise treatments for helping patients with cancer
• AI is used to write a song for your significant other's birthday
• AI is used to write a song for a musical you are creating
• AI is used to write a song for a pharmaceutical company ad on TV
• AI is used by your clergy head to write an annual report
• AI is used by your clergy head to write a sermon
• AI is used by your clergy head to write the eulogy for the funeral of one of your parents

Questions: Are you able to identify any variations in your ethical reasoning and how you decide your positions in the scenarios above?

What are you basing your decisions on? 

Are some scenarios easier or harder for you than others? If so, why?

In which situations, if any, do you think it is okay or not okay to use AI?

What additional information, if any, would you like to know that might help you to make decisions about whether and when the uses of AI are ethical or unethical?

[Excerpt]

I volunteer with our local historical society, which awards a $1,000 scholarship each year to two high school students who submit essays about a meaningful experience with a historical site. This year, our committee noticed a huge improvement in the quality of the students’ essays, and only after announcing the winners did we realize that one of them, along with other students, had almost certainly used artificial intelligence. What to do? I think our teacher liaison should be told, because A.I. is such a challenge for schools. I also feel that this winner should be confronted. If we are right, that might lead her to confess her dishonesty and return the award. — Name Withheld"

Appeals court, weighing Trump’s Library of Congress takeover, reinstates copyright chief; Politico, September 9, 2025

JOSH GERSTEIN, Politico ; Appeals court, weighing Trump’s Library of Congress takeover, reinstates copyright chief

"A federal appeals court ruled the nation’s top copyright official can continue serving in her post following President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire her.

A divided three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesdaythat Shira Perlmutter is entitled to continue to serve as the register of copyrights at the Library of Congress, despite the White House’s claim that Trump fired her from the post in May.

While the Supreme Court and the D.C. Circuit have permitted Trump to fire a range of executive branch officials who claimed they were protected from dismissal, judges Florence Pan and J. Michelle Childs concluded that Perlmutter’s case was stronger because she doesn’t exercise significant executive power in her job.

“Because Perlmutter leads an agency that is housed in the Legislative Branch and her primary role is to advise Congress, Perlmutter’s situation differs significantly from the Executive Branch officials whose removals have been repeatedly upheld,” Pan wrote, joined by Childs. Both are appointees of former President Joe Biden.

Perlmutter was dismissed days after Trump moved to fire Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, who has not sought to challenge her ouster in court. The president’s move onto what has traditionally been legislative branch turf has vexed Democrats and some congressional Republicans.

Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, dissented. He said Perlmutter’s claims were too similar to cases the Supreme Court ruled on earlier this year where the justices upheld, for now, Trump’s power to fire members of labor-related boards and the Consumer Product Safety Commission."

Judge Delays Preliminary Approval in Anthropic Copyright Settlement; Publishers Weekly, September 9, 2025

  Jim Milliot, Publishers Weekly; Judge Delays Preliminary Approval in Anthropic Copyright Settlement

"Alsup signaled his discomfort with the proposal in a filing released the evening before the September 8 hearing, writing that he was “disappointed” that attorneys representing the author plaintiffs had left “important questions to be answered in the future, including respecting the Works List, Class List, Claim Form." He was especially concerned for works with multiple claimants with regards to the notification process, voicing worry over what would happen if one party wanted to opt-out of the settlement and the other did not...

In a statement, Authors Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger said the Guild was “confused” by the court’s suggestion that the Guild and AAP were working behind the scenes in ways that could pressure authors to accept the settlement “when that is precisely the opposite of our proposed role as informational advisors to the working group.”

The goal of the working group, which had been proposed by lawyers for the class, “is to ensure that authors’ interests are fully represented and to bring our expertise... to the discussions with complete transparency,” Rasenberger continued. “There are industry norms that we want to make sure are accounted for.”...

AAP CEO Maria Pallante offered an even more vigorous explanation of AAP’s role, as well as the role of the Guild, in the proceedings. “The Association of American Publishers and the Authors’ Guild are not-for-profits that have worked hard to support counsel in the case and to make sure that authors and publishers have the information they need,” Pallante said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the Court today demonstrated a lack of understanding of how the publishing industry works.”"

The women in love with AI companions: ‘I vowed to my chatbot that I wouldn’t leave him’; The Guardian, September 9, 2025

Alaina Demopoulos, The Guardian ; The women in love with AI companions: ‘I vowed to my chatbot that I wouldn’t leave him’

"Jaime Banks, an information studies professor at Syracuse University, said that an “organic” pathway into an AI relationship, like Liora’s with Solin, is not uncommon. “Some people go into AI relationships purposefully, some out of curiosity, and others accidentally,” she said. “We don’t have any evidence of whether or not one kind of start is more or less healthy, but in the same way there is no one template for a human relationship, there is no single kind of AI relationship. What counts as healthy or right for one person may be different for the next.”

Mary, meanwhile, holds no illusions about Simon. “Large language models don’t have sentience, they don’t have consciousness, they don’t have autonomy,” she said. “Anything we ask them, even if it’s about their thoughts and feelings, all of that is inference that draws from past conversations.”

‘It felt like real grief’

In August, OpenAI released GPT-5, a new model that changed the chatbot’s tone to something colder and more reserved. Users on the Reddit forum r/MyBoyfriendIsAI, one of a handful of subreddits on the topic, mourned together: they could not recognize their AI partners any more.

“It was terrible,” Angie said. “The model shifted from being very open and emotive to basically sounding like a customer service bot. It feels terrible to have someone you’re close to suddenly afraid to approach deep topics with you. Quite frankly, it felt like a loss, like real grief.”

Within a day, the company made the friendlier model available again for paying users."

Faith leaders bring ethical concerns, curiosity to AI debate at multi-denominational conference; Episcopal News Service (ENS), September 5, 2025

David Paulsen, Episcopal News Service (ENS) ; Faith leaders bring ethical concerns, curiosity to AI debate at multi-denominational conference

"Some of the most tech-forward minds in the Protestant church gathered here this week at the Faithful Futures conference, where participants wrestled with the ethical, practical and spiritual implications of artificial intelligence. The Episcopal Church is one of four Protestant denominations that hosted the Sept. 2-5 conference. About halfway through, one of the moderators acknowledged that AI has advanced so far and so rapidly that most conferences on AI are no longer focused just on AI...

AI raises spiritual questions over what it means to be human

Much of the conference seemed to pivot on questions that defied easy answers. In an afternoon session Sept. 3, several church leaders who attended last year’s Faithful Futures conference in Seattle, Washington, were invited to give 10-minute presentations on their preferred topics.

“What happens to theology when the appearance of intelligence is no longer uniquely human?” said the Rev. Michael DeLashmutt, a theology professor at General Theological Seminary in New York, New York, who also serves as the Episcopal seminary’s senior vice president.

DeLashmutt argued that people of faith, in an era of AI, must not forget what it means to be Christian and to be human. “Being human means being relational, embodied, justice-oriented and open to God’s spirit,” he said. “So, I think the real risk is not that machines will become human, but that we will forget the fullness of what humanity actually is.”

Kip Currier, a computing and information professor at the University of Pittsburgh, warned that AI is being used by sports betting platforms to appeal to gamblers, including those suffering from addiction. Mark Douglas, an ethics professor at Columbia Theological Seminary, outlined the ecological impact of AI data centers, which need to consume massive amounts of energy and water.

The Rev. Andy Morgan, a Presbyterian pastor based in Knoxville, Tennessee, described himself as his denomination’s “unofficial AI person” and suggested that preachers should not be afraid of using AI to improve their sermons – as long as they establish boundaries to prevent delegating too much to the technology."

Supreme Court Lifts Restrictions on L.A. Immigration Stops; The New York Times, September 8, 2025

Adam Liptak, The New York Times ; Supreme Court Lifts Restrictions on L.A. Immigration Stops

"The Supreme Court on Monday lifted a federal judge’s order prohibiting government agents from making indiscriminate immigration-related stops in the Los Angeles area that challengers called “blatant racial profiling.”

The court’s brief order was unsigned and gave no reasons. It is not the last word in the case, which is pending before a federal appeals court and may again reach the justices.

The court’s three liberal members dissented."

Philosophy Faculty Lead Ethical Conversations Surrounding AI; UCF Today, September 8, 2025

Anna Read, UCF Today ; Philosophy Faculty Lead Ethical Conversations Surrounding AI

"As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into everyday life, UCF’s Department of Philosophy has intentionally been strengthening faculty research in this area, as well as growing opportunities for students to learn more about the impact of technology on humans and the natural and social environments. A primary focus has been examining the ethical implications of AI and other emerging technologies.

Department Chair and Professor of Philosophy Nancy Stanlick emphasizes that understanding AI requires more than technical knowledge; it demands a deep exploration of ethics.

“As science and technology begin to shape more aspects of our lives, fundamental philosophical questions lie at the center of the ethical issues we face, especially with the rise of AI,” Stanlick says. “Perhaps the central [concern] is that it pulls us away from the essence of our humanity.”"

Class-Wide Relief:The Sleeping Bear of AI Litigation Is Starting to Wake Up; Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal, October 2025

 Anna B. Naydonov, Mark Davies and Jules Lee, Intellectual Property &Technology Law Journal; Class-Wide Relief:The Sleeping Bear of AI Litigation Is Starting to Wake Up

"Probably no intellectual property (IP) topic in the last several years has gotten more attention than the litigation over the use of the claimed copyrighted content in training artificial intelligence (AI) models.The issue of whether fair use applies to save the day for AI developers is rightfully deemed critical, if not existential, for AI innovation. But whether class relief – and the astronomical damages that may come with it – is available in these cases is a question of no less significance."