FMinus: “Companies and organizations that are supposed to be on the right side of the environmental movement too often hire compromised lobbyists. Search our database to find out who’s hiring who—and whether or not their track record is consistent with their values. [Search by State or Search by Client] Launched in July 2023, F Minus… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Congress
Gun homicides have reached rates not seen since the 1990s
USA Facts: “In 2021, 81% of all homicides in the US were due to firearm-related injuries.. In 2020, the national homicide rate increased by 30%. That is the largest single-year increase in over a century. However, not all types of homicide grew at the same rate. Between 2019 and 2021, firearm homicide rates increased 44%,… Continue Reading
How Often Do Health Insurers Say No to Patients?
ProPublica: “It’s one of the most crucial questions people have when deciding which health plan to choose: If my doctor orders a test or treatment, will my insurer refuse to pay for it? After all, an insurance company that routinely rejects recommended care could damage both your health and your finances. The question becomes ever… Continue Reading
Planned in Plain Sight: A Review of the Intelligence Failures in Advance of January 6th, 2021
“U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released a new report detailing the results of his investigation examining intelligence failures by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) in the lead-up to the attack on… Continue Reading
National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee Releases First Report
“NAIAC’s work supports the Biden-Harris administration’s ongoing efforts to advance a comprehensive approach to AI-related risks and opportunities. Congress directs the NAIAC to submit a report to the President and Congress after the first year, and then again every three years, to provide the Committee’s findings and recommendations on the National AI Initiative. Congress has… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Narrows Federal Jurisdiction Under Clean Water Act
CRS Legal Sidebar Supreme Court Narrows Federal Jurisdiction Under Clean Water Act June 21, 2023 – On May 25, 2023, the Supreme Court decided Sackett v. EPA, a case with significant implications for the scope of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act (CWA). While the Court unanimously agreed that the lower court applied the wrong… Continue Reading
A.I.’s Use in Elections Sets Off a Scramble for Guardrails
The New York Times (read free) – Gaps in campaign rules allow politicians to spread images and messaging generated by increasingly powerful artificial intelligence technology…What began a few months ago as a slow drip of fund-raising emails and promotional images composed by A.I. for political campaigns has turned into a steady stream of campaign materials… Continue Reading
Election Worker Safety and Privacy
CRS Insight – Election Worker Safety and Privacy, June 21, 2023: “Concerns about election workers’ safety and privacy have been reported since the 2020 election, in news reports and testimony before House and Senate committees. Some election workers have raised concerns about their physical safety while performing official duties, as well as threats to their… Continue Reading
An Aggressive Supreme Court Reshapes the US as Its Standing Erodes
Bloomberg – free link: “A conservative supermajority is remaking US laws on the environment, health and firearms, even as public confidence declines and ethical questions grow. The Supreme Court, in the midst of a run of decisions that have stress-tested the core principles of US democracy, has rarely been so aggressive in using its powers —… Continue Reading
How AI could take over elections and undermine democracy
Via LLRX – How AI could take over elections and undermine democracy – Archon Fung, Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government, Harvard Kennedy School, and Lawrence Lessig, Professor of Law and Leadership, Harvard University, pose the question: “Could organizations use artificial intelligence language models such as ChatGPT to induce voters to behave in specific ways? Sen. Josh… Continue Reading
Humans Are Biased. Generative AI Is Even Worse
Bloomberg Opinion [alt free link] – Stable Diffusion’s text-to-image model amplifies stereotypes about race and gender — here’s why that matters: “The world according to Stable Diffusion is run by White male CEOs. Women are rarely doctors, lawyers or judges. Men with dark skin commit crimes, while women with dark skin flip burgers. Stable Diffusion… Continue Reading
Freedom of speech and LGBT rights: Americans’ views of issues in Supreme Court case
“A majority of Americans think business owners should be able to refuse to provide services in situations where providing them may “suggest support for beliefs about lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) issues” to which they have personal or religious objections, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. In earlier surveys, the public has… Continue Reading
