When does simplifying become simple minded?

https://www.npr.org/2026/01/28/nx-s1-5677187/nuclear-safety-rules-rewritten-trump

The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules

The Trump administration has overhauled a set of nuclear safety directives and shared them with the companies it is charged with regulating, without making the new rules available to the public, according to documents obtained exclusively by NPR.

The sweeping changes were made to accelerate development of a new generation of nuclear reactor designs. They occurred over the fall and winter at the Department of Energy, which is currently overseeing a program to build at least three new experimental commercial nuclear reactors by July 4 of this year.

… NPR obtained copies of over a dozen of the new orders, none of which are publicly available. The orders slash hundreds of pages of requirements for security at the reactors. They also loosen protections for ground water and the environment and eliminate at least one key safety role. The new orders cut back on requirements for keeping records, and they raise the amount of radiation a worker can be exposed to before an official accident investigation is triggered.

Over 750 pages were cut from the earlier versions of the same orders, according to NPR's analysis, leaving only about one third of the number of pages in the original documents.

At what point do we tip over to believing everything is fake?

https://apnews.com/article/ai-videos-trump-ice-artificial-intelligence-08d91fa44f3146ec1f8ee4d213cdad31

Trump’s use of AI images pushes new boundaries, further eroding public trust, experts say

The Trump administration has not shied away from sharing AI-generated imagery online, embracing cartoonlike visuals and memes and promoting them on official White House channels.

But an edited — and realistic — image of civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong in tears after being arrested is raising new alarms about how the administration is blurring the lines between what is real and what is fake.

An interesting question.

https://www.bespacific.com/the-trump-administration-is-lying-to-our-faces-congress-must-act/

The Trump Administration Is Lying to Our Faces. Congress Must Act

The New York Times Editorial Board (Gift Article): The Trump Administration Is Lying to Our Faces. Congress Must Act. “The administration is urging Americans to reject the evidence of their eyes and ears. Ms. Noem and Mr. Bovino are lying in defiance of obvious truths. They are lying in the manner of authoritarian regimes that require people to accept lies as a demonstration of power.” But in today’s media landscape, it doesn’t cut it to eventually get to the truth after giving credulous consideration (and headline space) to the lies. When people lie every time, like every single time, maybe it doesn’t make sense to give them the benefit of the doubt in the first rough draft of history. At this point, it’s not enough to call out the lies we can plainly see with our own eyes. We have to assume the lie as a starting point. As Vinson Cunningham asks in The New Yorker: “Their untroubled and automatic dishonesty, amid so much shared evidence, gives rise to a horrible question: If this is what they do when we can see, what’s going on in the places—planes and cars, detention centers—where we can’t?” We need to find out. We owe it to Alex Pretti’s parents, and we owe it to America…”

• The New York Times Magazine Gift Article – Watching America Unravel in Minneapolis: “Donald Trump’s most profound break with American democracy, evident in his words and actions alike, is his view that the state’s relationship with its citizens is defined not by ideals or rules but rather by expressions of power, at the personal direction of the president. That has been clear enough for years, but I had not truly seen what it looked like in person until I arrived in Minneapolis, my hometown, to witness what Trump’s Department of Homeland Security called Operation Metro Surge…”

• TIME: In Wake of Alex Pretti Shooting, Trump Is Betraying His Base on Gun Rights. They’re Not Happy. [Stephen Miller called Pretti “an assassin [who] tried to murder federal agents”]

• The Atlantic Gift Article – Believe Your Eyes. “People are risking their lives to document agents in Minneapolis…But Pretti’s last seconds were captured from multiple angles, in sickening footage widely distributed on social media and by news organizations. It is able to be seen and dissected online precisely because of the observers who were there to document it, who watched as federal agents piled atop Pretti and who did not drop their phones when the gunshots rang out…”

• The New Yorker – The Battle for Minneapolis [no paywall] “As Donald Trump brings his retribution to a liberal city, citizens, protesters, and civic leaders try to protect one another.”

A tech glitch or censorship? How would we know?

https://www.npr.org/2026/01/27/nx-s1-5689104/tiktok-epstein-direct-messages

TikTok is investigating why some users can't write 'Epstein' in messages

Officials at TikTok say they are looking into why many users have been unable to send the word "Epstein" in direct messages, an issue that garnered widespread attention on social media Monday and prompted California Gov. Gavin Newsom to announce an inquiry into the matter.

Interesting. I’m sure a spy or a terrorist would fully comply...

https://pogowasright.org/the-trump-administration-wants-your-dna-and-social-media/

The Trump Administration wants your DNA and social media

Privacy International sounds the alarm:

The U.S. Government intends to force visitors to submit their digital history and DNA as the price of entry. With this much data AI tools will likely be deployed to unlock details of your life for border and immigration agencies.

Yesterday the Trump Administration announced a proposed change in policy for travellers to the U.S. It applies to the powers of data collection by the Customs and Border Police (CBP).

If the proposed changes are adopted after the 60-day consultation, then millions of travellers to the U.S. will be forced to use a U.S. government mobile phone app, submit their social media from the last five years and email addresses used in the last ten years, including of family members. They’re also proposing the collection of DNA.

Read the details of this dystopian proposal on Privacy International.

Read the Federal Register proposal and submit any comments by February 9, 2026.

A wish or a fact?

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-agents-incapable-math

AI Agents Are Mathematically Incapable of Doing Functional Work, Paper Finds

A months-old but until now overlooked study recently featured in Wired claims to mathematically prove that large language models “are incapable of carrying out computational and agentic tasks beyond a certain complexity” — that level of complexity being, crucially, pretty low.

… Ignore the rhetoric that tech CEOs spew onstage and pay attention to what the researchers that work for them are finding, and you’ll find that even the AI industry agrees that the tech has some fundamental limitations baked into its architecture. In September, for example, OpenAI scientists admitted that AI hallucinations, in which LLMs confidently make up facts, were still a pervasive problem even in increasingly advanced systems, and that model accuracy would “never” reach 100 percent.

Another lesson in basic economics.

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/capping-card-interest-rates-wont-make-credit-cheaper/

Capping Card Interest Rates Won’t Make Credit Cheaper

… All price controls are based on the idea that the price is the problem to be solved. It is not. It is merely the symptom of some underlying issue in supply and demand for whatever good, service, or asset is under discussion. This is the same for minimum wages – which are price floors – or caps on credit card fees, which are price ceilings, just like rent controls.  

An interest rate is a price like any other. Specifically, it is the rental price of capital, and it is set by the supply of and demand for capital: where demand is high relative to supply, the price will be high, and where it is low, the price will be low, ceteris paribus.  

If a market interest rate is high, reflecting high demand for capital relative to the supply of it, setting a legal maximum rate below it will neither expand the supply of nor reduce the demand for credit. Quite the opposite. If demand was high relative to supply at a rate of, say, 10 percent, it is only likely to increase if a legal maximum of 5 percent is introduced. On the other side, those supplying credit at 10 percent are likely to supply less of it at 5 percent.

The “not ICE” version…

https://www.bespacific.com/cbp-murdered-alex-jeffrey-pretti-in-minneapolis-mn-on-january-24-2026/

CBP Murdered Alex Jeffrey Pretti in Minneapolis MN on January 24, 2026.

Has evidence in criminal cases been resolved?

https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=1387148

EVIDENCE IN THE MODERN CIVIL TRIAL: ADMISSION OF DIGITAL EVIDENCE, THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND THE BURDEN OF PROOF IN CONSUMER-PROFESSIONAL DISPUTES

Rapid technological transformation has profoundly reshaped the rules and practices of civil procedure. This paper examines three major directions in the evolution of evidentiary mechanisms: the admissibility of digital evidence, such as emails, messages, and recordings; the use of artificial intelligence as an evidentiary tool and its implications for the fairness of proceedings; and the adjustments to the burden of proof in disputes between consumers and professionals, in the context of enhanced protection for the vulnerable party. The article evaluates the current legal framework, judicial practice, and future challenges, concluding that modernizing civil procedural law is necessary in order to respond effectively to the realities of the digital age.

Again, SciFi predicts reality…

https://scholarworks.uark.edu/arlnlaw/24/

Ethics Of Artificial Intelligence For Lawyers: I’m Sorry Dave, I’m Afraid I Can’t Do That: Competence, Confidentiality, And Communication

In Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, the spaceship’s onboard computer, HAL, calmly refuses to follow the astronaut’s command with the chilling words, “I’m sorry, Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.” HAL’s response has become a cultural shorthand for what happens when human expectations collide with machine limitations. The line endures because it captures the chilling reality that machines may appear capable, but they cannot always be trusted to act in ways humans expect or need.

This installment explores three pillars of Formal Opinion 512: competence, confidentiality, and communication. These pillars focus on what lawyers need to understand about artificial intelligence, how they must safeguard client information when using these new tools, and when they are required to disclose its use to clients.

Conflict ahead?

https://pogowasright.org/several-state-ai-laws-set-to-go-into-effect-in-2026-despite-federal-governments-push-to-eliminate-state-level-ai-regulations/

Several State AI Laws Set to Go into Effect in 2026, Despite Federal Government’s Push to Eliminate State-Level AI Regulations

Corey Bartkus of Barnes & Thornburg LLP writes:

Illinois, Texas, and Colorado are each set to implement laws governing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workforce in 2026, all while the federal government has signaled its intent to eliminate state-level regulations on AI.

On Dec. 11, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order, titled “Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence,” which directed the federal government to review state laws that are deemed “inconsistent” with its plans to implement a national policy framework for AI.

Meanwhile, new AI laws in Illinois and Texas went into effect on Jan. 1. Illinois’ new law, H.B. 3773, amends the state’s human rights act to make clear that the statute is triggered when discrimination emanates from an employer’s use of AI to make decisions on hiring, firing, discipline, tenure, and training. Under H.B. 3773, companies must notify workers when AI is integrated into any of the aforementioned workplace decisions. Furthermore, companies are barred from using ZIP codes in the AI model when evaluating candidates. Because these new protections were implemented as part of Illinois’ existing human rights code, they come with a private right of action.

Read more at The National Law Review.

A different kind of security risk. Not sure training is available to address this in most companies.

https://thehackernews.com/2026/01/who-approved-this-agent-rethinking.html

Who Approved This Agent? Rethinking Access, Accountability, and Risk in the Age of AI Agents

AI agents are accelerating how work gets done. They schedule meetings, access data, trigger workflows, write code, and take action in real time, pushing productivity beyond human speed across the enterprise.

Then comes the moment every security team eventually hits:

“Wait… who approved this?”

Unlike users or applications, AI agents are often deployed quickly, shared broadly, and granted wide access permissions, making ownership, approval, and accountability difficult to trace. What was once a straightforward question is now surprisingly hard to answer.

AI Agents Break Traditional Access Models

AI agents are not just another type of user. They fundamentally differ from both humans and traditional service accounts, and those differences are what break existing access and approval models.

Human access is built around clear intent. Permissions are tied to a role, reviewed periodically, and constrained by time and context. Service accounts, while non-human, are typically purpose-built, narrowly scoped, and tied to a specific application or function.

AI agents are different. They operate with delegated authority and can act on behalf of multiple users or teams without requiring ongoing human involvement. Once authorized, they are autonomous, persistent, and often act across systems, moving between various systems and data sources to complete tasks end-to-end.

Perspective.

https://theconversation.com/is-ai-hurting-your-ability-to-think-how-to-reclaim-your-brain-272834

Is AI hurting your ability to think? How to reclaim your brain

The retirement of West Midlands police chief Craig Guildford is a wake-up call for those of us using artificial intelligence (AI) tools at work and in our personal lives. Guildford lost the confidence of the home secretary after it was revealed that the force used incorrect AI-generated evidence in their controversial decision to ban Israeli football fans from attending a match.

This is a particularly egregious example, but many people may be falling victim to the same phenomenon – outsourcing the “struggle” of thinking to AI.

As an expert on how new technology reshapes society and the human experience, I have observed a growing phenomenon which I and other researchers refer to as “cognitive atrophy”.

Essentially, AI is replacing tasks many people have grown reluctant to do themselves – thinking, writing, creating, analysing. But when we don’t use these skills, they can decline.

We also risk getting things very, very wrong. Generative AI works by predicting likely words from patterns trained on vast amounts of data. When you ask it to write an email or give advice, its responses sound logical. But it does not understand or know what is true.

Perhaps another storage plan is worth considering?

https://pogowasright.org/microsoft-gave-fbi-keys-to-unlock-encrypted-data-exposing-major-privacy-concern/

Microsoft Gave FBI Keys To Unlock Encrypted Data, Exposing Major Privacy Concern

Thomas Brewster reports:

Early last year, the FBI served Microsoft with a search warrant, asking it to provide recovery keys to unlock encrypted data stored on three laptops. Federal investigators in Guam believed the devices held evidence that would help prove individuals handling the island’s Covid unemployment assistance program were part of a plot to steal funds.

The data was protected with BitLocker, software that’s automatically enabled on many modern Windows PCs to safeguard all the data on the computer’s hard drive. BitLocker scrambles the data so that only those with a key can decode it.

It’s possible for users to store those keys on a device they own, but Microsoft also recommends BitLocker users store their keys on its servers for convenience. While that means someone can access their data if they forget their password, or if repeated failed attempts to login lock the device, it also makes them vulnerable to law enforcement subpoenas and warrants.

In the Guam case, it handed over the encryption keys to investigators.

Read more at Forbes.

I may have mentioned this problem a few times…

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ai-is-poisoning-itself-model-collapse-cure/

AI is quietly poisoning itself and pushing models toward collapse - but there's a cure

According to tech analyst Gartner, AI data is rapidly becoming a classic Garbage In/Garbage Out (GIGO) problem for users. That's because organizations' AI systems and large language models (LLMs) are flooded with unverified, AI‑generated content that cannot be trusted. 

You know this better as AI slop. While annoying to you and me, it's deadly to AI because it poisons the LLMs with fake data. The result is what's called in AI circles "Model Collapse." AI company Aquant defined this trend: "In simpler terms, when AI is trained on its own outputs, the results can drift further away from reality." 

Something to keep in mind?

https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/22/google-now-offers-free-sat-practice-exams-powered-by-gemini/

Google now offers free SAT practice exams, powered by Gemini

Prepping for the SAT is nobody’s idea of fun, but Google aims to make it less stressful with AI. The company announced that it’s now focusing its AI education efforts on standardized testing with free SAT practice exams powered by Gemini. 

Students can prompt Gemini by typing “I want to take a practice SAT test,” and the AI will provide them with a free practice exam. Gemini then analyzes the results, highlighting strengths and identifying areas that need further review. It also offers detailed explanations for any incorrect answers. 

Law by memo? (We want to, therefore we can?)

https://www.bespacific.com/immigration-officers-assert-sweeping-power-to-enter-homes-without-a-judges-warrant/

Immigration officers assert sweeping power to enter homes without a judge’s warrant

“AP Federal immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to forcibly enter people’s homes without a judge’s warrant, according to an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press, marking a sharp reversal of longstanding guidance meant to respect constitutional limits on government searches. The memo authorizes ICE officers to use force to enter a residence based solely on a more narrow administrative warrant to arrest someone with a final order of removal, a move that advocates say collides with Fourth Amendment protections and upends years of advice given to immigrant communities. The shift comes as the Trump administration dramatically expands immigration arrests nationwide, deploying thousands of officers under a mass deportation campaign that is already reshaping enforcement tactics in cities such as Minneapolis. For years, immigrant advocates, legal aid groups and local governments have urged people not to open their doors to immigration agents unless they are shown a warrant signed by a judge. That guidance is rooted in Supreme Court rulings that generally prohibit law enforcement from entering a home without judicial approval. The ICE directive directly undercuts that advice at a time when arrests are accelerating under the administration’s immigration crackdown. The memo itself has not been widely shared within the agency, according to a whistleblower complaint, but its contents have been used to train new ICE officers who are being deployed into cities and towns to implement the president’s immigration crackdown. New ICE hires and those still in training are being told to follow the memo’s guidance instead of written training materials that actually contradict the memo, according to the whistleblower disclosure. It is unclear how broadly the directive has been applied in immigration enforcement operations. The Associated Press witnessed ICE officers ramming through the front door of the home of a Liberian man, Garrison Gibson, with a deportation order from 2023 in Minneapolis on Jan. 11, wearing heavy tactical gear and with their rifles drawn. Documents reviewed by The AP revealed that the agents only had an administrative warrant — meaning there was no judge who authorized the raid on private property. The change is almost certain to meet legal challenges and stiff criticism from advocacy groups and immigrant-friendly state and local governments that have spent years successfully urging people not to open their doors unless ICE shows them a warrant signed by a judge. The Associated Press obtained the memo and whistleblower complaint from an official in Congress, who shared it on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive documents. The AP verified the authenticity of the accounts in the complaint.

The memo, signed by the acting director of ICE, Todd Lyons, and dated May 12, 2025, says: “Although the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not historically relied on administrative warrants alone to arrest aliens subject to final orders of removal in their place of residence, the DHS Office of the General Counsel has recently determined that the U.S. Constitution, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the immigration regulations do not prohibit relying on administrative warrants for this purpose…”

Might be interesting to include an order for disclosure of the search terms the FBI was using…

https://pogowasright.org/judge-prevents-feds-from-going-through-reporters-materials-seized-by-fbi/

Judge prevents feds from going through reporter’s materials seized by FBI

Sydney Haulenbeek reports:

 A magistrate judge on Wednesday blocked the government from examining data that it seized from a Washington Post reporter last week.

In a two-page order, Magistrate Judge William B. Porter granted the Post’s request for a standstill order, halting the federal government from reviewing any of the materials they seized from the property of Post reporter Hannah Natanson last week.

The government must preserve the documents that it collected during its search, Porter wrote, but not review them. The judge also scheduled an oral argument for early February.

Natanson, who covers President Donald Trump’s reshaping of the government, had her home searched by FBI agents early morning last Wednesday. The agents, who had a search warrant, seized a phone she used for work, two laptops — one of which was owned by the Post — a recorder, a hard drive and a Garmin watch.

Read more at Courthouse News.