Welcome to the Supreme Court, where corruption has no meaning; The Washington Post, June 22, 2023

 Paul Waldman , The Washington. Post; Welcome to the Supreme Court, where corruption has no meaning

"There are two seminal rulings that show how the court has altered the relationship between public officials and the ultrawealthy who want things from them: The first is Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), which — along with a series of subsequent casesthat opened the floodgates to ever-increasing political spending — insisted that we shouldn’t worry about the corrupting influence of all that money.

The second was McDonnell v. United States (2016), in which the court overturned the conviction of former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell, who had accepted $175,000 in gifts and loans — including a $20,000 shopping spree for his wife, the use of a Ferrari and a Rolex watch — from a donor who was seeking the state’s help in promoting his business. The court ruled that since McDonnell only partially came through for the donor — he set up a series of meetings with the donor and other officials — he hadn’t taken “official acts” in exchange for the money and gifts, and therefore he was innocent. More cases dismissing corruption accusations followed.

“This court majority has put in place a radically diminished notion of what corruption is,” said Michael Waldman, head of the Brennan Center for Justice and author of a new book on the Supreme Court. “There’s an ideology that rich people throwing their money around in a way that benefits these officials is not corrupting unless you have a receipt showing ‘I admit to receiving a bribe.’”

The result is a world in which the ultrawealthy face few constraints in developing problematic relationships, and those they want to influence, whether judges or politicians, can enjoy the fruits of their generosity unfettered by pesky rules and regulations."

The professor is canceled. Now what?; The Washington Post, June 21, 2023

 Jack Stripling, The Washington Post; The professor is canceled. Now what?

"Experts who spoke with The Post generally agreed that social media posts about matters of public concern are typically considered protected speech. A university that tries to fire a professor for tweets alone is likely to face strong head winds, including lawsuits or reputational damage, said Risa L. Lieberwitz, a professor of labor and employment law at Cornell University and general counsel of the American Association of University Professors. That’s one reason investigations often focus on a professor’s classroom conduct, such as whether a professor targeted a student based on race, sex or religion."

Data Ethics: 9 Codes of Conduct Every Data Scientist Should Follow; Make Use Of, June 8, 2023

JOSHUA ADEGOKE, Make Use Of; Data Ethics: 9 Codes of Conduct Every Data Scientist Should Follow

"You Must be Ethical as a Data Scientist 

As a data scientist, you receive a power that comes with proportional responsibility. Your skills are rare, so you sit at the forefront of organizational decision-making.

Your decisions affect everything from company business plans to criminal justice systems. So, you shouldn’t make them lightly. Always be honest, ethical, and meticulous in your work to protect people from existing ethical dilemmas across your industry and other tech fields."

Ethics Teams in Tech Are Stymied by Lack of Support; Stanford University Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), June 21, 2023

Katharine Miller

,  Stanford University Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI); Ethics Teams in Tech Are Stymied by Lack of Support

"In recent years, AI companies have been publicly chided for generating machine learning algorithms that discriminate against historically marginalized groups. To quell that criticism, many companies pledged to ensure their products are fair, transparent, and accountable, but these promises are frequently criticized as being mere “ethics washing,” says Sanna Ali, who recently received her PhD from the Stanford University Department of Communication in the School of Humanities and Sciences. “There’s a concern that these companies talk the talk but don’t walk the walk.”

To explore whether that’s the case, Ali interviewed AI ethics workers from some of the largest companies in the field. The research project, co-authored with Stanford Assistant Professor of Communication Angèle Christin, Google researcher Andrew Smart, and Stanford W.M Keck Professor and Professor of Management Science and Engineering Riitta Katila, was partially funded by a seed grant from Stanford HAI and published in the Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency(FAccT ’23). The study found that ethics initiatives and interventions were difficult to implement in the tech industry’s institutional environment. Specifically, Ali found, teams were largely under-resourced and under-supported by leadership, and they lacked authority to act on problems they identified."

Supreme Court's Alito defends against ethics questions; Reuters via NBC, June 20, 2023

Reuters via NBC ; Supreme Court's Alito defends against ethics questions

"Conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Tuesday published a commentary in The Wall Street Journal defending himself from questions about his ethical conduct raised in an article by news outlet ProPublica.

The commentary on the WSJ website addressed what Alito referred to as “charges” by journalists from ProPublica that he had failed to recuse from cases in which an entity connected to hedge fund founder Paul Singer was a party and to report certain gifts on mandatory annual financial disclosure forms, such as a private flight to Alaska for a fishing trip.

“Neither charge is valid,” Alito wrote."

Justice Samuel Alito: ProPublica Misleads Its Readers; WSJ, June 20, 2023

 Samuel A. Alito Jr., WSJ ; Justice Samuel Alito: ProPublica Misleads Its Readers

"The publication levels false charges about Supreme Court recusal, financial disclosures and a 2008 fishing trip."

Justice Samuel Alito Took Luxury Fishing Vacation With GOP Billionaire Who Later Had Cases Before the Court; ProPublica, June 20, 2023

Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan, Alex Mierjeski, ProPublica; Justice Samuel Alito Took Luxury Fishing Vacation With GOP Billionaire Who Later Had Cases Before the Court

"In the years that followed, Singer’s hedge fund came before the court at least 10 times in cases where his role was often covered by the legal press and mainstream media. In 2014, the court agreed to resolve a key issue in a decade-long battle between Singer’s hedge fund and the nation of Argentina. Alito did not recuse himself from the case and voted with the 7-1 majority in Singer’s favor. The hedge fund was ultimately paid $2.4 billion.

Alito did not report the 2008 fishing trip on his annual financial disclosures. By failing to disclose the private jet flight Singer provided, Alito appears to have violated a federal law that requires justices to disclose most gifts, according to ethics law experts.

Experts said they could not identify an instance of a justice ruling on a case after receiving an expensive gift paid for by one of the parties."

Florida school district and state ed leaders sued over restricting kids book on penguins; Politico, June 20, 2023

 ANDREW ATTERBURY, Politico; Florida school district and state ed leaders sued over restricting kids book on penguins

"A group of students alongside the authors of a children’s book centered on a penguin family with two fathers sued a central Florida school district and top state education officials Tuesday claiming that limiting its availability is a violation of free expression.

The lawsuit, one of several challenging Florida’s policies for launching local book objections, aims to require Lake County officials to make the book — “And Tango Makes Three” — available to all students."

The largely forgotten book ban case that went up to the Supreme Court; The Washington Post, May 20, 2023

Anthony Aycock, The Washington Post ; The largely forgotten book ban case that went up to the Supreme Court

"Record efforts to ban books are fueling fights in Texas, Virginia and across the country. Just this week, a group including free-speech advocates, authors, parents and the publisher Penguin Random House filed a federal lawsuit against a Florida school district over the removal of books covering gender and LGBTQ issues.

Yet only one previous case of a library book ban has ended up before the Supreme Court: Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26 v. Pico. And, outside law school classrooms, it has largely been forgotten."

Exclusive: Southeast Asia to set 'guardrails' on AI with new governance code; Reuters, June 16, 2023

Fanny Potkin and Panu Wongcha-um , Reuters; Exclusive: Southeast Asia to set 'guardrails' on AI with new governance code

"Southeast Asian countries are drawing up governance and ethics guidelines for artificial intelligence (AI) that will impose "guardrails" on the booming technology, five officials with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters...

The other ASEAN countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Those governments were not immediately reachable for comment."

G.O.P. Targets Researchers Who Study Disinformation Ahead of 2024 Election; The New York Times, June 19, 2023

 Steven Lee Myers and Sheera Frenkel , The New York Times; G.O.P. Targets Researchers Who Study Disinformation Ahead of 2024 Election

"On Capitol Hill and in the courts, Republican lawmakers and activists are mounting a sweeping legal campaign against universities, think tanks and private companies that study the spread of disinformation, accusing them of colluding with the government to suppress conservative speech online."

Ethical, legal issues raised by ChatGPT training literature; Tech Explore, May 8, 2023

 Peter Grad , Tech Xplore; Ethical, legal issues raised by ChatGPT training literature

""Knowing what books a model has been trained on is critical to assess such sources of bias," they said.

"Our work here has shown that OpenAI models know about books in proportion to their popularity on the web."

Works detected in the Berkeley study include "Harry Potter," "1984," "Lord of the Rings," "Hunger Games," "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," "Fahrenheit 451," "A Game of Thrones" and "Dune."

While ChatGPT was found to be quite knowledgeable about works in the public domain, lesser known works such as Global Anglophone Literature—readings aimed beyond core English-speaking nations that include Africa, Asia and the Caribbean—were largely unknown. Also overlooked were works from the Black Book Interactive Project and Black Caucus Library Association award winners.

"We should be thinking about whose narrative experiences are encoded in these models, and how that influences other behaviors," Bamman, one of the Berkeley researchers, said in a recent Tweet. He added, "popular texts are probably not good barometers of model performance [given] the bias toward sci-fi/fantasy.""

A Fight Over the Right to Repair Cars Takes a Wild Turn; Wired, June 17, 2023

 AARIAN MARSHALL, Wired; A Fight Over the Right to Repair Cars Takes a Wild Turn

"Amid competing letters, statements, and legal paperwork there’s a fundamental question, one that Massachusetts tried to find the answer to: Who owns the reams of data created by today’s increasingly software- and computer-chip-enabled vehicles?"

Artificial intelligence can support architects but lacks empathy and ethics; The Conversation, June 18, 2023

Farzam Sepanta PhD Candidate, Building Engineering, Carleton University , The Conversation; , Artificial intelligence can support architects but lacks empathy and ethics

"Beyond architecture schools, understanding the importance of the shared values, heritage and cultural qualities of a community, or even a person, is essential for architects in coming up with design solutions. 

While AI is capable of analyzing such information, it cannot truly empathize with and understand these different considerations.

At the same time, decisions made by architects carry responsibilities and liabilities. Students learn about sustainability issues, long-term impacts of designs, ecological footprints and other similar topics.

Although AI can be provided with decision-making capabilities, it cannot replace architects’ roles in ethical decision-making process."

What Elizabeth Gilbert's publication delay reveals about the ethics of writing fiction; CBC, June 15, 2023

 Jen Sookfong Lee and Laisha Rosnau , CBC; What Elizabeth Gilbert's publication delay reveals about the ethics of writing fiction

"Elizabeth Gilbert, the bestselling author of Eat Pray Love, is delaying publication of her latest novel after facing a backlash from some Ukrainians who said it's the wrong time to put the novel — which is set in Russia — into the world.

Authors Jen Sookfong Lee and Laisha Rosnau unpack Gilbert's decision, and get into the real-world ethical dilemmas facing fiction writers today."

As more schools target ‘Maus,’ Art Spiegelman’s fears are deepening; The Washington Post, June 14, 2023

Greg Sargent , The Washington Post; As more schools target ‘Maus,’ Art Spiegelman’s fears are deepening

"What alarms Spiegelman about the targeting of “Maus” on specious grounds, he told me, is that its “fable” form was able to reach a broad audience with a story “about dehumanizing people” and “othering.” Spiegelman suggested those looking to restrict books are seeking to limit school curriculums with their own acts of othering.

“Those others can include Asians, Indigenous Americans, Black people, Muslims — not to mention LGBTQ and beyond,” Spiegelman said. The book-removal frenzy, he noted, is “about squelching what’s supposed to happen in school, which is an education that allows people to become one country that can talk to each other with a base of knowledge.”"

To Fight Book Bans, Illinois Passes a Ban on Book Bans; The New York Times, June 13, 2023

Orlando Mayorquin, The New York Times; To Fight Book Bans, Illinois Passes a Ban on Book Bans

"Taking a new tack in the ideological battle over what books children should be able to read, Illinois will prohibit book bans in its public schools and libraries, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker calling the bill that he signed on Monday the first of its kind.

The law, which takes effect next year, was the Democratic-controlled state’s response to a sharp rise in book-banning efforts across the country, especially in Republican-led states, where lawmakers have made it easier to remove library books that political groups deemed objectionable.

“While certain hypocritical governors are banning books written by L.G.B.T.Q. authors, but then claiming censorship when the media fact-checks them, we are showing the nation what it really looks like to stand up for liberty,” Mr. Pritzker, a Democrat, said at a bill-signing event at the Harold Washington Library Center in Chicago.

The law directs public libraries in the state to adopt or write their own versions of a library bill of rights such as the American Library Association’s, which asserts that “Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.”"

From Roald Dahl to Goosebumps, revisions to children’s classics are really about copyright – a legal expert explains; The Conversation, March 7, 2023

Cathay Smith, The Conversation ; From Roald Dahl to Goosebumps, revisions to children’s classics are really about copyright – a legal expert explains

"Over the past decades, authors, copyright owners and publishers have edited and updated children’s books. They have removed racial stereotypes, reflected changing gender and cultural norms and in doing so, maintained their books’ relevance and appeal to the modern reader.

Hugh Lofting’s The Story of Doctor Dolittle (1920), Dr. Seuss’s And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street (1937), Helen Bannerman’s The Story of Little Black Sambo (1899), Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) and classic children’s books series such as Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew have all changed to keep up with increasing sensitivities to racial, gender and other social stereotypes...

Copyright law grants its holder the exclusive right to edit a copyrighted children’s book and the right to limit publication of a work. This means that during a book’s copyright term, the copyright holder has the right to make edits that maintain the book’s popularity and commercial viability. 

This is true even when an author no longer owns the copyright to their work. In those situations, the copyright holder generally has the right to make edits to the work even without the author’s consent, as Goosebumps author R.L. Stine recently discovered."

Tennis stars get lots of hate online. The French Open gave them AI 'bodyguards'; NPR, June 8, 2023

Adam Bearne, NPR ; Tennis stars get lots of hate online. The French Open gave them AI 'bodyguards'

"What about the people who should be hearing public criticism?

Free speech advocates are worried, however, about technology that screens comments before they are allowed to be posted.

That could lead to something akin to "prior restraint," where the government prevents someone from exercising their right to free speech, said Kate Klonick, a professor at St. John's University in New York...

Boutard said he doesn't see his technology being used that way.

"We don't remove criticism, what we remove is toxicity," he said. "The line is actually pretty clear. If you start throwing insults, being racist, attacking a player, using body-shaming, that's not a criticism, and that's actually toxic to the player."

This Obscure Judicial Agency Could Tighten Ethics for Justices; Bloomberg Law, June 14, 2023

 Sheldon Whitehouse, Bloomberg Law; This Obscure Judicial Agency Could Tighten Ethics for Justices

"As the justices drag their feet on making changes, a little-known agency within the judicial branch of government could have an outsize role in ethical reform. The Judicial Conference of the United States administers laws that Congress has passed regarding judicial ethics. In administering those laws, the Judicial Conference has statutory power to set up rules and procedures that govern both judges and Supreme Court justices.

By statute, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court chairs this body, which comprises chief judges from the circuit courts of appeals and judges from district courts within each circuit.

The Judicial Conference, established by Congress in 1922, meets twice a year to consider policy issues affecting the judiciary, including ethical issues. For example, the Judicial Conference amended the Judicial Code of Conduct in 2019 following allegations from judicial clerks that the federal judiciary needed to do more to protect against workplace harassment.

Contrary to what Supreme Court justices suggested in their recent “Statement on Ethics Principles and Practices,” this power is crystal-clear, and the Supreme Court has long abided by it.

The chief justice’s recent public statement that more needs to be done on Supreme Court ethics signals an important opening for the Judicial Conference, the judiciary’s rule-setter in many of these areas."

Korea issues first AI ethics checklist; The Korea Times, June 14, 2023

Lee Kyung-min, The Korea Times; Korea issues first AI ethics checklist

"The government has outlined the first national standard on how to use artificial intelligence (AI) ethically, in a move to bolster the emerging industry's sustainability and enhance its global presence, the industry ministry said Wednesday.

Korea Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS), an organization affiliated with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, issued a checklist of possible ethical issues and reviewed factors to be referenced and considered by service developers, providers and users.

The considerations specified for report and review include ethical issues arising in the process of collecting and processing data, the designing and development of AI, and the provision of such services to customers. 

The guidelines contain considerations such as transparency, fairness, harmlessness, responsibility, privacy protection, convenience, autonomy, reliability, sustainability and solidarity-enhancing qualities."

Law Professors Testify on Supreme Court Ethics; C-SPAN, June 14, 2023

C-SPAN; Law Professors Testify on Supreme Court Ethics

"Law professors testified on Supreme Court ethics before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts. This hearing followed a ProPublica investigative report revealing Justice Clarence Thomas potentially violated financial disclosure requirements after receiving trips and other things of monetary value from billionaire and Republican donor Harlan Crow. Both men have denied wrongdoing and stressed they’ve been friends for many years. This ProPublica report set off a nationwide debate on Supreme Court ethics."

Much Abuzz About Drones: Drones and Forest Management; American Bar Association (ABA), April 20, 2023

Elliad Dagan, American Bar Association (ABA) ; Much Abuzz About Drones: Drones and Forest Management

"Despite these on-paper benefits, widespread use of drones in forest management might bring myriad new issues. For example, access to previously inaccessible areas will provide more complete data, but it will also disturb what little habitat has managed to avoid human interference. "

National Archives refutes claims Trump had two years to go through presidential records in rare public statement; CNN, June 9, 2023

Jamie Gangel, Zachary Cohen and Elizabeth Stuart, CNN; National Archives refutes claims Trump had two years to go through presidential records in rare public statement

"The National Archives is pushing back on claims made by former President Donald Trump, his lawyers and his allies over his retention of classified documents, for which he now faces a federal indictment."

21st-century editors should keep their hands off of 20th-century books; The Washington Post, June 12, 2023

 Editorial Board, The Washington Post; 21st-century editors should keep their hands off of 20th-century books

"A number of beloved novels, for both children and adults, are being “retouched” — updated to remove overtly racist, sexist or otherwise offensive language. Publishers and literary estates — including those of best-selling mystery writer Agatha Christie, children’s author Roald Dahl and James Bond creator Ian Fleming — argue these changes will ensure, in the words of the Dahl estate, that “wonderful stories and characters continue to be enjoyed by all children today.”

But it’s a threat to free expression, to historical honesty and, indeed, to readers themselves for contemporary editors to comb through works of fiction written at different moments and rewrite them for today’s mind-set, particularly with little explanation of process or limiting principles. The trend raises uncomfortable questions about authorship and authenticity, and it ignores the reality that texts are more than consumer goods or sources of entertainment in the present. They are also cultural artifacts that attest to the moment in which they were written — the good and the bad...

Literature is often meant to be provocative. Stripping it of any potential to offend dilutes its strength, especially in a moment when there is a concerted effort in this country to limit what can be read and taught. Publishers need not reprint books with no acknowledgment of potentially offensive contents. They can treat the publication of such texts as opportunities to explain why they read the way they do, in introductions and in footnotes. And, if publishers see little option but to change wording, they should at least explain to readers what they are changing and why."

If the Supreme Court Won’t Fix Its Ethics Mess, Congress Should; The New York Times, June 12, 2023

 Erwin Chemerinsky, The New York Times; If the Supreme Court Won’t Fix Its Ethics Mess, Congress Should

"Congress should not wait on the court any longer. It has the authority to hold justices to a code of conduct. If it fails to do so, it will share responsibility for the ethics mess at the Supreme Court...

The case for the Code of Conduct for federal judges is made succinctly in its first sentence: “An independent and honorable judiciary is indispensable to justice in our society.” That should apply equally to the nation’s highest court."

Teaching the ethics of data science through immersive video; Cornell Chronicle, June 6, 2023

 By Sandi Mulconry, Cornell Chronicle; Teaching the ethics of data science through immersive video

"In “Nobody’s Fault,” students experience what it’s like to be a data scientist dealing with a moral conflict. The video stops from time to time, asking viewers how they would handle the tricky situations being depicted. As they make decisions, the plot shifts, and they see the consequences unfold – and how they affect an unemployed woman who can’t get the facial recognition application to work.

After a series of unhappy outcomes, the scene rewinds, better choices are offered, and students see how things could have been different for the woman seeking her benefits.

“The video gave us real-world experience with ethical dilemmas,” said Britt Snider, M.I.L.R. ’24. “It enhanced our learning of the subject by showing us in real time the consequences of our decisions – and how something as seemingly innocuous as a few percentage points could cause such a large consequence to society overall.”"

5 ways EU’s ethics body just might work — or not; Politico, June 8, 2023

SARAH WHEATON, Politico; 5 ways EU’s ethics body just might work — or not

"Here are five ways the Commission’s proposal could have teeth — and how critics contend it could be defanged."

Book bans are on the rise. Biden is naming a point person to address that; NPR, June 8, 2023

 Franco Ordoñez, NPR; Book bans are on the rise. Biden is naming a point person to address that

"President Biden on Thursday will announce new actions to try to address discrimination against LGBTQI+ Americans — including the appointment of a new point person at the Education Department to address an increase in book bans."

The ChatGPT Lawyer Explains Himself; The New York Times, June 8, 2023

Benjamin Weiser and Nate Schweber, The New York Times; The ChatGPT Lawyer Explains Himself

"Irina Raicu, who directs the internet ethics program at Santa Clara University, said this week that the Avianca case clearly showed what critics of such models have been saying, “which is that the vast majority of people who are playing with them and using them don’t really understand what they are and how they work, and in particular what their limitations are.”

Rebecca Roiphe, a New York Law School professor who studies the legal profession, said the imbroglio has fueled a discussion about how chatbots can be incorporated responsibly into the practice of law.

“This case has changed the urgency of it,” Professor Roiphe said. “There’s a sense that this is not something that we can mull over in an academic way. It’s something that has affected us right now and has to be addressed.”"

How ethics is becoming a key part of research in tech; The Stanford Daily, June 7, 2023

Cassandra Huff, The Stanford Daily; How ethics is becoming a key part of research in tech

"Building off the IRB model, in 2020 the Ethics in Society Review (ESR) board was created under the McCoy Family Center, the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) and Human-Centered AI (HAI) to make ethics a core part of research in computer science. The ESR acts similarly to the IRB by examining ethical concerns to minimize potential harm of the research before a project is approved for funding.

This process is integrated into grant proposal applications in HAI. After HAI reviews the technical merits of a proposal, it is handed off to the ESR, which assigns an interdisciplinary panel of faculty to review each of them. This panel acts as advisors on ethical issues to identify challenges and provide additional guidance on the ethical component of the research. Once completed, the panel will either release research funds, or recommend more iterations of the review process.

The ESR is not meant to determine whether the proposal should be funded, but rather to analyze the unintended consequences of the research prior to the start of the project. In discussing what ESR does, Betsy Rajala, Program Director at CASBS said, “Everytime you touch research these questions come up and [it’s better to] think about them sooner rather than later.”"

Justice Clarence Thomas delays filing financial disclosure amid increased ethics scrutiny; NBC News, June 7, 2023

 Lawrence Hurley, NBC News; Justice Clarence Thomas delays filing financial disclosure amid increased ethics scrutiny

"Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has asked for an extension in filing his annual financial disclosure report amid increased scrutiny of his ethical obligations.

Thomas, as well as fellow conservative Justice Samuel Alito, asked for a delay in filing, which is allowed under federal law, a spokesman for the judiciary said.

Other justices did submit their annual financial disclosure reports listing earnings, assets, gifts and stock holdings on time. Those reports were posted online on Wednesday."

The ethics of artificial intelligence, and what to beware of as applications of AI expand; Maine Public, June 1, 2023

 Jennifer Rooks, Cindy Han, Jonathan P. Smith, Maine Public; The ethics of artificial intelligence, and what to beware of as applications of AI expand

"The White House recently released guidelines for federally backed research on artificial intelligence (AI). Our panel discusses the ethical questions that arise as AI advances—such as the controversial ChatGPT technology—become widely used. Can AI be a beneficial tool, or does it open up dangerous avenues for fake news, plagiarism and other negative applications?

Panelists:

Crystal Hall, associate professor, Digital Humanities; director, Digital and Computational Studies Program, Bowdoin College; focus on digital humanities
Eric Chown, Sarah and James Bowdoin professor, Digital and Computational Studies, Bowdoin College; focus on humans and machines
Fernando Nascimento, assistant professor, Digital and Computational Studies, Bowdoin College; focus on ethics"

Librarians sue Arkansas state over law banning them from giving ‘obscene’ books to children; The Guardian, May 31, 2023

 Sarah Shaffi, The Guardian; Librarians sue Arkansas state over law banning them from giving ‘obscene’ books to children

"The American Library Association and the Authors Guild are among a group of organisations bringing a lawsuit against the state of Arkansas over a law which makes it a crime for librarians to give children books with “obscene” content.

The lawsuit involves 17 plaintiffs, including the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS), the Association of American Publishers and the American Booksellers Association.

The groups are aiming to challenge Senate bill 81, which exposes librarians who provide “obscene materials” to children to criminal liability. The law, part of Act 372 of 2023, is due go to come into force on 1 August."

A lawyer used ChatGPT to cite bogus cases. What are the ethics?; Reuters, May 30, 2023

Karen Sloan, Reuters; A lawyer used ChatGPT to cite bogus cases. What are the ethics?

"A New York lawyer is facing potential sanctions over an error-riddled brief he drafted with help from ChatGPT.

It's a scenario legal ethics experts have warned about since ChatGPT burst onto the scene in November, marking a new era for AI that can produce human-like responses based on vast amounts of data.

Steven Schwartz of Levidow, Levidow & Oberman faces a June 8 sanctions hearing before U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel after he admitted to using ChatGPT for a brief in his client's personal injury case against Avianca Airlines. The brief cited six non-existent court decisions."