No longer running rampant?
https://www.bespacific.com/the-center-begins-to-hold/
The center begins to hold.
Follow up to Law Firms Made Deals With Trump. Now He Wants More From Them – Robert H. Hubbell: “Five law professors come to the aid of law firms targeted by Trump. Five preeminent law professors from Boston University, Cornell, and Georgetown, all of whom are experts in ethics, have filed a brief in support of Wilmer Hale (one of the Trump targets that refused to capitulate). All I can say is, “Shut the front door! Do not provoke ethics experts.” Joyce Vance (of Civil Discourse on Substack) ably summarizes the arguments made by the five law professors. In short, the capitulating law firms face ethical conflicts whenever they represent a client in a case involving the government. Worse, as summarized by Joyce Vance, “Those firms may have violated federal anti-bribery laws. “[T]he law firms may fall within what counts as bribery under federal law: offering or promising something of value to a federal official in hopes of influencing an official act—here, withdrawing the executive orders against the firms.” It appears the Capitulating Firms did not carefully consider the ramifications (or legality) of giving Trump a political victory in exchange for forestalling official government action… The “agreements” between the Capitulating Firms and Trump have been a mystery. Who were the parties to the agreements? What were the terms of the agreements? Are they enforceable? Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo appears to have discovered the answers to the above questions—and they aren’t pretty. It appears that the “agreements” are little more than the press releases by the firms and Trump’s posts on Truth Social (descriptions that do not always match). Worse, it appears that the agreements were negotiated by Boris Epshteyn—who does not represent the US government. Rather, Epshteyn is Trump’s personal attorney. So, if Epshteyn is Trump’s personal attorney, then Trump (rather than the government) is the counterparty to the agreement. It appears that Trump’s personal lawyer was convincing the firms to give up hundreds of millions of dollars in pro bono services to benefit Trump’s political standing in exchange for the cancellation of an official government action, i.e., the executive orders. If true, such a corrupt exchange is why the five ethics experts suggest that the deals may violate federal anti-bribery statutes. See Josh Marshall, Talking Points Memo, For Big Law: Is That Your Final Answer? At some point in the future, representatives of the law firms will be called to explain the nature, terms, and intent of the agreements. Those firms should already be preparing those answers with the assistance of high-powered criminal defense lawyers. I am not suggesting that there was a criminal violation, but as cautious attorneys, the Capitulating Firms know that you don’t want to get close to that line. But that is where the amateurish, reckless deals placed once-proud and respected firms—too close to a line that could end careers and personal liberties…”
AI in education.
As ‘Bot’ Students Continue to Flood In, Community Colleges Struggle to Respond
Community colleges have been dealing with an unprecedented phenomenon: fake students bent on stealing financial aid funds. While it has caused chaos at many colleges, some Southwestern faculty feel their leaders haven’t done enough to curb the crisis.
When the spring semester began, Southwestern College professor Elizabeth Smith felt good. Two of her online classes were completely full, boasting 32 students each. Even the classes’ waitlists, which fit 20 students, were maxed out. That had never happened before.
“Teachers get excited when there’s a lot of interest in their class. I felt like, ‘Great, I’m going to have a whole bunch of students who are invested and learning,’’ Smith said. “But it quickly became clear that was not the case.”
By the end of the first two weeks of the semester, Smith had whittled down the 104 students enrolled in her classes, including those on the waitlist, to just 15. The rest, she’d concluded, were fake students, often referred to as bots.
… The bots’ goal is to bilk state and federal financial aid money by enrolling in classes, and remaining enrolled in them, long enough for aid disbursements to go out. They often accomplish this by submitting AI-generated work. And because community colleges accept all applicants, they’ve been almost exclusively impacted by the fraud.
Interesting.
Ohio Judge Strikes Social Media Law Restricting Teen Access (1)
A federal judge struck down Ohio’s law limiting teen social media use, marking another court win for the tech industry group NetChoice fighting similar restrictions nationwide.
Judge Algenon L. Marbley granted a permanent injunction against the Social Media Parental Notification Act in a Wednesday decision for the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The law required platforms to verify whether its users are at least 16 and demanded parental consent for younger users. The decision enjoins Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) from enforcing the law.
NetChoice—whose members include Meta Platforms Inc., X Corp., and Alphabet Inc.'s Google—alleged in its Jan. 2024 complaint that the law violated First and 14th Amendment protections by requiring Ohioans to hand over personal data in order to access content. Marbley granted a preliminary injunction of the law Feb. 12, 2024.
I can see them directing traffic but doubt their ability to perform all law enforcement functions.
https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/ai-thai-robocop-patrols-streets?group=test_a
Cyborg 1.0: Thai Robocop patrols streets with 360° eyes, live face-tracking power
… The robot, named “AI Police Cyborg 1.0,” made its debut during the Songkran festival in Nakhon Pathom province. Developed collaboratively by Provincial Police Region 7, Nakhon Pathom Provincial Police, and Nakhon Pathom Municipality, this Robocop-style unit is equipped with advanced surveillance and threat detection technologies.
AI Police Cyborg 1.0 uses onboard AI to immediately process and analyze data by integrating real-time data from aerial drone footage and local CCTV networks. Rapid reaction coordination is made possible by the robot’s in-built 360-degree smart cameras, which are immediately connected to the province’s Command and Control Center and backed by video analytics software, according to The Nation.
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