Interesting list.

https://www.bespacific.com/the-200-sites-an-ice-surveillance-contractor-is-monitoring/

404 Media has obtained a list of 200+ sites monitored by a contractor for ICE

404 Media [unpaywalled] – “A contractor for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and many other U.S. government agencies has developed a tool that lets analysts more easily pull a target individual’s publicly available data from a wide array of sites, social networks, apps, and services across the web at once, including Amazon, Apple Music, BabyCenter, Bluesky, Facebook, Github, GoFundMe, OnlyFans, Instagra, according to a leaked list of the sites obtained by 404 Media. In all the list names more than 200 sites that the contractor, called ShadowDragon, pulls data from and makes available to its government clients, allowing them to map out a person’s activity, movements, and relationships.”

404 Media has uploaded the list here.

I did not know that. Perhaps I’ll take another look. What other industries use it this way?

https://www.bespacific.com/the-legal-professions-shift-to-linkedin-what-you-need-to-know/

The Legal Profession’s Shift to LinkedIn: What You Need to Know

Nicole Black – LinkedIn – “A decade ago, LinkedIn was little more than a digital resume. Today, it’s the primary networking platform for legal professionals. It’s come a long way since the book I co-authored about social media for lawyers was published by the American Bar Association in 2010. Back then, LinkedIn barely merited a mention. Interaction on the platform was minimal, and its primary benefit was assisting with job searches. At the time, Twitter and Facebook were the top social networks for legal professionals, and Instagram was in its infancy. If you’d suggested to me that one day LinkedIn would be my primary social media outlet, I’d have called you crazy… There are many recent feature updates that make the platform more engaging, such as newsletters, videos, and even daily puzzles. If you haven’t checked out LinkedIn in a while, it’s worth revisiting it. You’ll undoubtedly find notable updates from colleagues and will see some using it very creatively to highlight their law firms’ successes…”

Because…

https://mashable.com/article/free-ai-courses-march-2025

38 of the best AI courses you can take online for free

It's possible that AI is going to eventually take over the world, but we should have a few years before we get to the point of no return. So how should we approach those years? We may as well learn how to make the most out of AI before it deems that we're all obsolete.

A wide range of online courses on AI can be found on Udemy. And better yet, some of the best examples can be taken for free. We've checked out everything on offer and lined up a selection of standout courses to get you started.

Perspective.

https://apnews.com/article/ai-school-chromebook-surveillance-gaggle-investigation-takeaways-381fa82978f27eb85f20d03236820711

Takeaways from our investigation on AI-powered school surveillance

Thousands of American schools are turning to AI-powered surveillance technology for 24/7 monitoring of student accounts and school-issued devices like laptops and tablets.

The goal is to keep children safe, especially amid a mental health crisis and the threat of school shootings. Machine-learning algorithms detect potential indicators of problems like bullying, self-harm or suicide and then alert school officials.

But these tools raise serious questions about privacy and security. In fact, when The Seattle Times and The Associated Press partnered to investigate school surveillance, reporters inadvertently received access to almost 3,500 sensitive, unredacted student documents through a records request. The documents were stored without a password or firewall, and anyone with the link could read them.

Here are key takeaways from the investigation.

Tools & Techniques. (Free trial on desktop version.)

https://www.bespacific.com/diffchecker/

DiffChecker

“I recently discovered a pretty amazing website called DiffChecker. It compares files and visually highlights any differences. You can use it to compare texts you paste right into the browser window, or you can upload documents to compare. It accepts Word docs, pdfs, spreadsheets and image files. To find the differences between two versions of a website, first you’ll have to convert them into txt files. Find an old capture in the Wayback Machine, right click to view page source, then save as a txt file. Then do the same for the live version of the site. A website’s html/css code may not include data files of course – those may be pulled from a background database you can’t access. I’m not saying it will work for every website, but it’s worth a try. The developers at DiffChecker are very responsive too, they quickly answer questions.” Via Marie Concannon Head, Government Information & Data Archives University of Missouri.

https://www.diffchecker.com/

Tools & Techniques.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/duckduckgos-ai-beats-perplexity-in-one-big-way-and-its-free-to-use/

DuckDuckGo's AI beats Perplexity in one big way - and it's free to use

I've been a fan of DuckDuckGo for a long time. I find the search engine to be far more trustworthy than Google and I do enjoy my privacy. But when I heard that the company was dipping its webbed feet into the AI waters, my initial reaction was a roll of the eyes.

Then I gave Duck.ai a go -- and was immediately impressed. (DuckDuck Go's AI features launched in June 2024 and came out of beta last week.)

Duck.ai does something that other similar products don't -- it gives you a choice. You can choose between the proprietary GPT-4o mini, o3-mini, and Claude 3 services or go open-source with Llama 3.3  and Mistral Small 3. Duck.ai is also private: All of your queries are anonymized by DuckDuckGo, so you can be sure no third-party will ever have access to your AI chats.

Government security, yes. Individual security, no so much.

https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/09/asia_tech_news_roundup/

India wants backdoors into clouds, email, SaaS, for tax inspectors

India’s government has proposed giving its tax authorities sweeping powers to access private email systems and applications.

The proposal emerged last month in the search and seizure provisions of a tax bill [PDF] which at section 247 requires citizens to provide tax authorities with access to their physical and digital records.

The section also gives tax authorities the power to “gain access by overriding the access code to any said computer system, or virtual digital space, where the access code thereof is not available.” That text appears in the same paragraph describing powers to break down doors or crack safes.

Interesting take…

https://journals.irapa.org/index.php/JESTT/article/view/1013

Artificial Intelligence in Autonomous Weapon Systems: Legal Accountability and Ethical Challenges

Autonomous Weapon Systems (AWS) are reshaping modern warfare, offering enhanced operational efficiency but raising significant legal, ethical, and regulatory concerns. Their capacity to engage targets without human intervention creates an accountability gap, challenging the application of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The current legal frameworks are incompetent to define meaningful human control. That complicate the attribution of responsibility when AWS violate human rights. Ethical challenges, including the dehumanization of warfare, algorithmic biases, and indiscriminate targeting, jeopardize civilian protection. Moreover, the proliferation of AWS amplifies global security risks, particularly with their potential misuse by non-state actors. This paper critically examines these challenges, evaluating current legal frameworks, ethical considerations, and regulatory inconsistencies. It proposes war torts, corporate accountability, transparency measures, and binding international treaties to address governance gaps. Supports international cooperation and oversight mechanisms is essential to ensure AWS comply with IHL and human rights law. This research contributes to the global discourse on autonomous warfare, offering practical policy recommendations for ethical and legal governance.

Automating the law of AI?

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5166908

Legal Challenges in Protecting Personal Information in Big Data Environments

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) and high-speed big data processing has raised significant legal challenges in safeguarding personal information. Traditional data protection frameworks struggle to address issues such as mass data collection, cross-border data transfers, and evolving cyber threats, particularly in AI-powered, high-speed data environments. This research examines key legal concerns, including compliance with privacy regulations, ethical considerations in AI-enhanced data processing, and enforcement limitations in large-scale data ecosystems. The study employs the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology to systematically evaluate legal frameworks, case studies, and technological solutions for data protection. By applying PRISMA, the research ensures a structured approach to selecting, screening, and analyzing studies on data privacy regulations and their effectiveness. Additionally, AI-driven big data analytics present new challenges in balancing regulatory compliance with real-time, high-speed data processing demands. The study investigates how well-established legal frameworks—such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)—address AI-enhanced risks of data breaches, unauthorized access, and personal information misuse. A structured data collection process was implemented using established databases such as Google Scholar, IEEE Xplore, PubMed, Westlaw, and LexisNexis. Quantitative analysis techniques, including descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, regression analysis, and meta-analysis, were applied to examine compliance rates, reported data breaches, monetary penalties, and response times to data incidents. The statistical analysis reveals significant inconsistencies in data privacy enforcement, as compliance rates vary widely (mean: 72.5%, SD: 12.3), and financial penalties under GDPR and CCPA range significantly (median: $1.1M, max: $5.2M). Furthermore, chi-square tests indicate a significant relationship between fines and compliance rates (p < 0.05), highlighting the impact of regulatory penalties on corporate adherence to data protection laws. As AI-powered high-speed data systems continue to evolve, there is an increasing need for adaptive legal frameworks that can address privacy risks while enabling technological innovation. This study emphasizes the necessity of AI-driven compliance mechanisms, automated regulatory monitoring, and real-time enforcement strategies to safeguard personal information in the era of high-speed big data processing.

Thinking real thoughts about artificial people.

https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw-bay-city/2025/03/do-androids-dream-of-electric-sheep-this-michigan-educators-classes-ponder-the-humanity-of-ai.html

Do androids dream of electric sheep? This Michigan educator’s classes ponder the humanity of A.I.

Matthew Katz knows you might be worried about “The Terminator.”

The Central Michigan University philosophy professor, though, also wants you to consider whether an android — a Terminator or something with less sinister intent — could one day “worry” about you.

Perspective.

https://pogowasright.org/geofencing-high-tech-surveillance-and-the-future-of-the-fourth-amendment/

Geofencing, High Tech Surveillance and the Future of the Fourth Amendment

Jon L. Mills and Alexandra Williams write:

Several years ago, Zack McCoy became a criminal suspect simply for riding his bike. His crime? Using a fitness app that placed him near the scene of a burglary. While McCoy was eventually cleared, his story illustrates a troubling reality: emerging surveillance technologies pose unprecedented threats to our constitutional rights.

Emerging technologies like geofencing and artificial intelligence can be powerful tools for law enforcement in solving crimes. And society’s increasing reliance on and integration of technology into our lives enhances the ability of these technologies to gather data that can be used in investigations. But we should be wary of giving up our constitutional protections against government surveillance in favor of convenience.

Currently there are dueling circuit court opinions on geofencing and the constitutionality of this investigative tool. This conflict presents an opportunity to redefine two fundamental issues of Fourth Amendment doctrine: What is the role of the broad third-party doctrine in the modern age and are certain surveillance technologies so intrusive that they constitute an unreasonable search which creates a “permeating police presence” that is the equivalent of an unconstitutional general warrant?

Read more at Law.com.

Keeping up.

https://pogowasright.org/state-comprehensive-privacy-law-update-march-7-2025/

State Comprehensive Privacy Law Update – March 7, 2025

Wilmer Hale has published a State Comprehensive Privacy Law Update. You can read it online or download a .pdf file (11 pages).

Finding human hallucinations?

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00648-5

AI tools are spotting errors in research papers: inside a growing movement

Late last year, media outlets worldwide warned that black plastic cooking utensils contained worrying levels of cancer-linked flame retardants. The risk was found to be overhyped – a mathematical error in the underlying research suggested a key chemical exceeded the safe limit when in fact it was ten times lower than the limit. Keen-eyed researchers quickly showed that an artificial intelligence (AI) model could have spotted the error in seconds.

The incident has spurred two projects that use AI to find mistakes in the scientific literature. The Black Spatula Project is an open-source AI tool that has so far analysed around 500 papers for errors. The group, which has around eight active developers and hundreds of volunteer advisers, hasn’t made the errors public yet; instead, it is approaching the affected authors directly, says Joaquin Gulloso, an independent AI researcher based in Cartagena, Colombia, who helps to coordinate the project. “Already, it’s catching many errors,” says Gulloso. “It’s a huge list. It’s just crazy.”

The other effort is called YesNoError and was inspired by the Black Spatula Project, says founder and AI entrepreneur Matt Schlicht. The initiative, funded by its own dedicated cryptocurrency, has set its sights even higher. “I thought, why don’t we go through, like, all of the papers?” says Schlicht. He says that their AI tool has analysed more than 37,000 papers in two months. Its website flags papers in which it has found flaws – many of which have yet to be verified by a human, although Schlicht says that YesNoError has a plan to eventually do so at scale.

Because social media is a perfect indicator of terrorist intent?

https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/06/uscis_social_media/

Uncle Sam mulls policing social media of all would-be citizens

The US government's Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is considering monitoring not just the social media posts of non-citizens coming into the country, but also all those already in America going through an immigration or citizenship process.

Back in 2019, the Department of Homeland Security, which runs USCIS, decided anyone looking to enter the US on a work visa or similar had to hand over their social media handles to the authorities so that they could be looked over for wrongdoing and subversion.

In fact, this goes back to 2014, at least, to one degree or another, and has been standard procedure for years for foreigners, particularly those coming in on a visa.

(Related)

https://www.axios.com/2025/03/06/state-department-ai-revoke-foreign-student-visas-hamas

Scoop: State Dept. to use AI to revoke visas of foreign students who appear "pro-Hamas"

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is launching an AI-fueled "Catch and Revoke" effort to cancel the visas of foreign nationals who appear to support Hamas or other designated terror groups, senior State Department officials tell Axios.

Tools & Techniques. (How paranoid is enough?)

https://www.bespacific.com/meet-rayhunter-a-new-open-source-tool-from-eff-to-detect-cellular-spying/

Meet Rayhunter: A New Open Source Tool from EFF to Detect Cellular Spying

EFF: “At EFF we spend a lot of time thinking about Street Level Surveillance technologies—the technologies used by police and other authorities to spy on you while you are going about your everyday life—such as automated license plate readers, facial recognition, surveillance camera networks, and cell-site simulators (CSS).  Rayhunter is a new open source tool we’ve created that runs off an affordable mobile hotspot that we hope empowers everyone, regardless of technical skill, to help search out CSS around the world.  CSS (also known as Stingrays or IMSI catchers) are devices that masquerade as legitimate cell-phone towers, tricking phones within a certain radius into connecting to the device rather than a tower.  CSS operate by conducting a general search of all cell phones within the device’s radius. Law enforcement use CSS to pinpoint the location of phones often with greater accuracy than other techniques such as cell site location information (CSLI)  and without needing to involve the phone company at all. CSS can also log International Mobile Subscriber Identifiers (IMSI numbers) unique to each SIM card, or hardware serial numbers (IMEIs) of all of the mobile devices within a given area. Some CSS may have advanced features allowing law enforcement to intercept communications in some circumstances. What makes CSS especially interesting, as compared to other street level surveillance, is that so little is known about how commercial CSS work. We don’t fully know what capabilities they have or what exploits in the phone network they take advantage of to ensnare and spy on our phones, though we have some ideas…”