Some interesting examples.

https://thenextweb.com/news/signals-instagram-ad-exposes-facebook-targetted-ads-data-collection

Signal’s smartass ad exposes Facebook’s creepy data collection

Facebook is notorious for generating creepily personal ads from reams of user data, but most people don’t understand how the system works.

Now, an attack ad campaign by Signal has shone some light on the opaque surveillance dragnet.

The privacy-focused messaging app tried to buy “multi-variant targeted” ads on Instagram to show what parent company Facebook knows about its users.

The campaign aimed to expose how Facebook’s array of services harvest user information to personalize ads. Advertisers can use the enormous range of data points to target audiences based on their location, age, demographics, interests, and behavior.

The resulting adverts can be eerily intimate and potentially harmful. Just last week, researchers found that Facebook had allowed advertisers to target teenage children interested in smoking, gambling, and extreme weight loss.

Signal’s plan was to use Facebook’s own tools to highlight these practices.

“The ad would simply display some of the information collected about the viewer which the advertising platform uses,” Signal said in a blog post. “Facebook was not into that idea.”

According to Signal, Facebook promptly disabled the ad account. Facebook denied that the account has been shut down and dismissed the ads as a publicity stunt. But Signal has maintained the claim.

The company also shared examples of what Facebook ads would look like if they were open about the targeting.

The NSA seems to enjoy writing to obfuscate. They think it shows everyone how smart they are.

https://www.bespacific.com/this-is-the-nsas-650-page-guide-to-the-internet/

This Is the NSA’s 650-Page Guide to the Internet

Vice – ‘Untangling the Web’ was a bizarre testament to the NSA’s understating of the how the internet worked. The National Security Agency’s 2007 guide to the internet begins with a description of an ancient Persian library and a fragment of analysis of a Jorge Luis Borges short story. This introduction to the 650 page document, titled ‘Preface: The Clew to the Labyrinth,” contains 8 footnotes and ends on a word of caution. “As we enjoy, employ, and embrace the Internet, it is vital we not succumb to the chauvinism of novelty, that is, the belief that somehow whatever is new is inherently good, is better than what came before, and is the best way to go or the best tool to use,” the NSA said of the internet… Though the document was originally made public in 2013, it’s been getting some new attention on The Government Attic, a repository of government documents..”

Does “share with the public” really mean “share with anyone?” Can I limit what you do with data I flag as “public?”

https://www.databreaches.net/scraping-episodes-highlight-debate-over-anti-hacking-laws-scope/

Scraping Episodes Highlight Debate Over Anti-Hacking Law’s Scope

Andrea Vittorio reports:

Recent data scraping incidents at Facebook Inc. and LinkedIn Corp. highlight an ongoing debate over whether companies can invoke an anti-hacking law to restrict rivals or other actors from harvesting information from people’s online profiles.

The issue could reach the U.S. Supreme Court, in a case over a data-scraping dispute between LinkedIn and workforce analytics startup hiQ Labs Inc. The court is being asked to review hiQ’s ability to gather user information from the job search site, testing the applicability of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to data that’s publicly available online.

Read more on Bloomberg Law.

Perspective. Is Facebook really that powerful?

https://www.npr.org/2021/05/06/994063372/why-facebooks-decision-on-trump-could-be-make-or-break-for-his-political-future

Why Facebook's Decision On Trump Could Be 'Make Or Break' For His Political Future

Facebook's Oversight Board on Wednesday essentially punted the decision back to the company on whether to eventually allow former President Donald Trump back on Facebook and Instagram. What the social media giant decides in the coming months will likely have major consequences for Trump's political power.

"It could be a make-or-break moment for Trump's political future," said Eric Wilson, a Republican political technologist.

That's because being on Facebook is crucial for modern-day political campaigns, as a majority of Americans use the platform and those who do log into it multiple times daily. Facebook has become crucial for raising money and for targeting supporters and swing voters, something the Trump campaign did in unprecedented ways. The majority of online ad dollars go to either Facebook or Google.

"Even with all the resources Donald Trump has," Wilson said, "Facebook is so much bigger than that, that you can't get around it."

These could be useful the next time I teach Excel.

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-helpful-spreadsheet-templates-help-manage-finances/

15 Personal Finance Excel Spreadsheet Templates for Managing Money

We trust too much?

https://venturebeat.com/2021/05/04/securelink-51-of-organizations-experienced-a-third-party-data-breach/

SecureLink: 51% of organizations experienced a third-party data breach

A new Ponemon Institute report found that 51% of organizations have experienced a data breach caused by a third-party.

… Findings revealed that organizations are not taking the necessary steps to reduce third-party remote access risk, and are exposing their networks to security and non-compliance risks. As a result, 44% of organizations have experienced a breach within the last 12 months, with 74% saying it was the result of giving too much privileged access to third-parties.

Read SecureLink’s full report, A Crisis in Third Party Remote Access Security.

The first thing to do in any European war is to overrun Belgium.

https://news.softpedia.com/news/belgium-was-hit-by-a-massive-cyberattack-532812.shtml

Belgium Hit by Massive Cyberattack

Belgium was hit by a major cyberattack on Tuesday, according to Belgian media, affecting many of the country's most important institutions. Its source is still unknown.

The attack was a major distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that took down both internal and public-facing networks.

Hackers targeted Belnet, Belgium's government-founded Internet Service Provider that connects national government organizations such as the Parliament, ministries, educational institutions, and research centers. In addition, all the websites hosted on the .be top-level domain were affected.

It is estimated that more than 200 Belgian government agencies have been affected by the attack. Although Belnet claims the situation is currently stabilized, they remain vigilant.

Every law enforcement entity will want at least one.

https://www.bespacific.com/report-how-law-enforcement-can-extract-sensitive-data-from-your-car/

Report – how law enforcement can extract sensitive data from your car

The Verge: “A new report from The Intercept has shed light on a worrying new technology that lets law enforcement agencies extract personal data from people’s cars. It reports that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently made an order worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from Swedish data extraction firm MSAB which included iVe “vehicle forensics kits” made by US firm Berla. Here’s what MSAB advertises the kits can do, according to The Intercept:

MSAB marketing materials promise cops access to a vast array of sensitive personal information quietly stored in the infotainment consoles and various other computers used by modern vehicles — a tapestry of personal details akin to what CBP might get when cracking into one’s personal phone. MSAB claims that this data can include “Recent destinations, favorite locations, call logs, contact lists, SMS messages, emails, pictures, videos, social media feeds, and the navigation history of everywhere the vehicle has been.” MSAB even touts the ability to retrieve deleted data, divine “future plan[s],” and “Identify known associates and establish communication patterns between them.”…

What could possibly go wrong?

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/04/tech/pimeyes-facial-recognition/index.html

Anyone can use this powerful facial-recognition tool — and that's a problem

You probably haven't seen PimEyes, a mysterious facial-recognition search engine, but it may have spotted you.

If you upload a picture of your face to PimEyes' website, it will immediately show you any pictures of yourself that the company has found around the internet. You might recognize all of them, or be surprised (or, perhaps, even horrified) by some; these images may include anything from wedding or vacation snapshots to pornographic images.

PimEyes is open to anyone with internet access.

… PimEyes' decision to make facial-recognition software available to the general public crosses a line that technology companies are typically unwilling to traverse, and opens up endless possibilities for how it can be used and abused.

Imagine a potential employer digging into your past, an abusive ex tracking you, or a random stranger snapping a photo of you in public and then finding you online. This is all possible through PimEyes: Though the website instructs users to search for themselves, it doesn't stop them from uploading photos of anyone. At the same time, it doesn't explicitly identify anyone by name, but as CNN Business discovered by using the site, that information may be just clicks away from images PimEyes pulls up.

… PimEyes lets users see a limited number of small, somewhat pixelated search results at no cost, or you can pay a monthly fee, which starts at $29.99, for more extensive search results and features (such as to click through to see full-size images on the websites where PimEyes found them and to set up alerts for when PimEyes finds new pictures of faces online that its software believes match an uploaded face).

(Related) Non-facial recognition.

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/use-smartphone-identify-anything-camfind/

The 8 Best Apps to Identify Anything Using Your Phone's Camera

These image recognition apps let you identify coins, plants, products, and more with your Android or iPhone camera.

Another tool for the disinformation toolkit?

https://www.unite.ai/godiva-microsoft-research-asia-text-to-video-generation-image-synthesis/

Microsoft Proposes GODIVA, A Text-To-Video Machine Learning Framework

A collaboration between Microsoft Research Asia and Duke University has produced a machine learning system capable of generating video solely from a text prompt, without the use of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs).

The project is titled GODIVA (Generating Open-DomaIn Videos from nAtural Descriptions), and builds on some of the approaches used by OpenAI’s DALL-E image synthesis system, revealed earlier this year.

(Related)

https://www.indiewire.com/2021/05/robert-de-niro-ai-dubs-movies-any-language-1234635001/

A Robert De Niro Box Office Flop Inspired an AI That Dubs Films into Any Language

British filmmaker Scott Mann directed Robert De Niro in the 2015 action thriller “Heist.” The film was a critical and box office fop ($4 million at the box office on a $15 million budget), so no one could’ve predicted at the time the film’s greatest legacy would be an artificial intelligence that automatically dubs movies into any language. Mann and his business partner Nick Lynes unveiled their new dubbing company Flawless this week in a feature published by Input Magazine. The company uses AI to digitally recreate and edit an actor’s face so that his or her mouth movements match the dub, thus maintaining the authenticity of the performance.

Not at all impressive.

https://www.bespacific.com/ai-gov-home-of-the-national-ai-initiative/

AI.gov, home of the National AI Initiative

“Welcome to AI.gov, home of the National AI Initiative and connection point to ongoing activities to advance U.S. leadership in AI. The National AI Initiative Act of 2020 became law on January 1, 2021, providing for a coordinated program across the entire Federal government to accelerate AI research and application for the Nation’s economic prosperity and national security. The mission of the National AI Initiative is to ensure continued U.S. leadership in AI research and development, lead the world in the development and use of trustworthy AI in the public and private sectors, and prepare the present and future U.S. workforce for the integration of AI systems across all sectors of the economy and society…”

Anti-social media?

https://thenextweb.com/news/trumps-been-posturbating-on-private-social-media-for-months?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheNextWeb+%28The+Next+Web+All+Stories%29

Trump’s been posturbating on private social media for months

Donald Trump today launched a private social media site. Its membership is so exclusive that only former US presidents who’ve been impeached twice are allowed to post there.

The site’s called “From The Desk of Donald J Trump.” That doesn’t quite roll off the tongue like Twitter or Facebook. But I’m holding out hope that we’ll soon find out Trump’s posts are called “Deskies.” That would be cute and this story needs something to lighten the mood because it’s all very sad.

Book selections for shut-ins.

https://www.bespacific.com/8-alternative-sites-better-than-goodreads-for-book-lovers/

8 Alternative Sites Better Than Goodreads for Book Lovers

Make Use Of: Goodreads is no longer the top dog when it comes to online book communities. Here are the best alternatives. “Goodreads boasts millions of users and a database full of even more books. People flock to the site to discover new titles to consume or catalog what they’ve already read. The platform offers countless useful features; for a time, users were content with it. That’s no longer the case, with many beginning to look elsewhere to fill their cataloging needs. There are countless Goodreads alternatives that cater to book lovers’ different needs. Let’s look at some of them…”

Congress, we’re downgrading you from Dummies…

https://www.bespacific.com/cybersecurity-for-idiots/

Cybersecurity for Idiots

Bambauer, Derek E., Cybersecurity for Idiots (March 18, 2021). 106 Minnesota Law Review Headnotes __ (2021 Forthcoming), Arizona Legal Studies Discussion Paper No. 21-04, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3807529

“Cybersecurity remains a critical issue facing regulators, particularly with the advent of the Internet of Things. General-purpose security regulators such as the Federal Trade Commission continually struggle with limited resources and information in their oversight. This Essay contends that a new approach to cybersecurity modeled on the negligence per se doctrine in tort law will significantly improve cybersecurity and reduce regulatory burdens. It introduces a taxonomy of regulators based upon the scope of their oversight and the pace of technological change in industries within their purview. Then, the Essay describes negligence per se for cybersecurity, which establishes a floor for security precautions that draws upon extant security standards. By focusing on the worst offenders, this framework improves notice to regulated entities, reduces information asymmetries, and traverses objections from legal scholars about the cost and efficacy of cybersecurity mandates. The Essay concludes by offering an emerging case study for its approach: regulation of quasi-medical devices by the Food and Drug Administration. As consumer devices increasingly offer functionality for both medical and non-medical purposes, the FDA will partly transition to a general-purpose regulator of information technology, and the negligence per se model can help the agency balance security precautions with promoting innovation.”

Beware of celebrities offering exclusive deals...

https://threatpost.com/deepfake-attacks-surge-experts-warn/165798/

Deepfake Attacks Are About to Surge, Experts Warn

… A drastic uptick in deepfake technology and service offerings across the Dark Web is the first sign a new wave of fraud is just about to crash in, according to a new report from Recorded Future, which ominously predicted that deepfakes are on the rise among threat actors with an enormous range of goals and interests.

“Within the next few years, both criminal and nation-state threat actors involved in disinformation and influence operations will likely gravitate towards deepfakes, as online media consumption shifts more into ‘seeing is believing’ and the bet that a proportion of the online community will continue to be susceptible to false or misleading information,” the Recorded Future report said.

Because it’s cool!

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-dark-web-websites/

The Best Dark Web Websites You Won't Find on Google

The dark web isn't for everyone, but some of it is worth exploring. Here are the best dark web websites worth checking out.

Worth grabbing to understand how it functions.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-new-open-source-tool-could-stop-your-ai-from-getting-hacked/

Microsoft's new open-source tool could stop your AI from getting hacked

Microsoft has released an open-source tool called Counterfit that helps developers test the security of artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

Microsoft has published the Counterfit project on GitHub and points out that a previous study it conducted found most organizations lack the tools to address adversarial machine learning.

Like sculpture, keep chipping away the parts that are not true AI.

https://bdtechtalks.com/2021/05/03/artificial-intelligence-fallacies/

4 key misunderstandings in AI

… Part of the continued cycle of missing these goals is due to incorrect assumptions about AI and natural intelligence, according to Melanie Mitchell, Davis Professor of Complexity at the Santa Fe Institute and author of Artificial Intelligence: A Guide For Thinking Humans.

In a new paper titled “Why AI is Harder Than We Think,” Mitchell lays out four common fallacies about AI that cause misunderstandings not only among the public and the media, but also among experts.

Familiar warning, new voice.

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/kangaroo-court-developing-trustworthy-ai-2558450/

Kangaroo Court: Developing Trustworthy AI

AI ethics is a sub-field of applied ethics, focusing on the ethical issues raised by the development, deployment and use of AI. Its central concern is to identify how AI can advance or raise concerns to the good life of individuals, whether in terms of quality of life, or human autonomy and freedom necessary for a democratic society.

You must use data to counter data.

https://thenextweb.com/news/how-politicians-manipulate-the-masses-with-simple-ai

How politicians manipulate the masses with simple AI

Trump, Russia, and Facebook were only the beginning. It can get much, much worse

… The age of data-based politics is coming to a close thanks to the innovations created by the 2016 Donald Trump campaign and the counteracting tactics employed by the Biden team in 2020.

Data used to be the most important commodity in politics. When Trump won in 2016, it wasn’t on the strength of his platform (he didn’t have one). It was on the strength of his data gathering and ad-targeting.

But that strategy was proven ineffective when it went up against the Biden team who, unlike Hillary Clinton’s campaign, conducted effective counter-messaging across the social media spectrum.

Anything applicable elsewhere?

https://www.bespacific.com/law-search-in-the-age-of-the-algorithm/

Law Search In The Age Of The Algorithm

Livermore, Michael A. and Beling, Peter and Carlson, Keith and Dadgostari, Faraz and Guim, Mauricio and Rockmore, Daniel, Law Search In The Age Of The Algorithm (April 27, 2021). 2020 MICH. ST. L. REV. 1183, Virginia Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper No. 2021-26, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3835362

“The process of searching for relevant legal materials is fundamental to legal reasoning. However, despite its enormous practical and theoretical importance, law search has not been given significant attention by scholars. In this Article, we define the problem of law search and examine the consequences of new technologies capable of automating this core lawyerly task. We introduce a theory of law search in which legal relevance is a sociological phenomenon that leads to convergence over a shared set of legal materials and explore the normative stakes of law search. We examine ways in which law scholars can understand empirically the phenomenon of law search, argue that computational modeling is a valuable epistemic tool in this domain, and report the results from a multi-year, interdisciplinary effort to develop an advanced law search algorithm based on human-generated data. Finally, we explore how policymakers can manage the challenges posed by new machine learning-based search technologies.”

Learning where I can learn.

https://www.makeuseof.com/tech-giants-offering-free-it-upskilling-courses/

These 5 Tech Giants Are Offering Free IT Upskilling Courses Online

How will these tests be challenged?

https://www.pogowasright.org/to-solve-3-cold-cases-this-small-county-got-a-dna-crash-course/

To Solve 3 Cold Cases, This Small County Got a DNA Crash Course

Virginia Hughes reports that a small cottage industry is growing to help law enforcement solve cold cases. The techniques involve DNA and using genetic markers to build multigenerational family trees — like the techniques that helped law enforcement finally catch the Golden State Killer. Hughes reports:

Mr. McCord and his team are among a growing number of investigators that have joined the scientific vanguard to revive cold cases. Hundreds of cases, of both victims and perpetrators, have likely been solved. Some have involved extracting DNA from decades-old bones, hair or minute traces of skin cells. Others have benefited from the most comprehensive and expensive type of DNA testing, known as whole-genome sequencing.

[…]

Critics worry that the widening use of this investigational method could lead to what is essentially a national DNA database for law enforcement, giving police access to highly personal information from a wide swath of the public without their explicit consent. The only significant limit is the cost — typically several thousand dollars per case — and that is dropping rapidly, as demand surges.

Read more on The New York Times.

Individual disruptions are not uncommon. What happens if many are launched at one time?

https://www.databreaches.net/unidentified-cyberattackers-force-alaska-court-system-to-disconnect-from-internet/

Unidentified cyberattackers force Alaska Court System to disconnect from internet

James Brooks reports:

A cyberattack has caused the Alaska Court System to disconnect most of its operations from the internet, an act expected to block electronic court filings, disrupt online payments and prevent hearings from taking place by videoconference for several days.

The Courtview system used to look up court records has been taken offline, as has the court system’s website.

Read more on ADN.com.

I sense a competitive opportunity…

https://www.makeuseof.com/facebook-instagram-user-tracking/

Facebook and Instagram Add Notices That Say User Tracking Keeps Their Apps Free

You may soon have to pick your poison: pay to use social media, or use it for free in exchange for being tracked.

Not exactly Deep Fakes, but the homemade equivalent?

https://www.makeuseof.com/how-to-turn-still-images-animated-avatars-tokkingheads/

How to Turn Still Images Into Animated Avatars Using TokkingHeads

… The TokkingHeads app allows you to turn still images of people's faces into animated avatars by applying prerecorded movement. The person in the picture will then move in accordance with the motion you chose.

Not a joke? Applicable to other subjects? (See my slides)

https://www.bespacific.com/the-powerpoint-channel/

The PowerPoint Channel

LoPucki, Lynn M., The PowerPoint Channel. forthcoming in the University of Massachusetts Law Review, UCLA School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 21-16, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3810195

“This Article is the first to present a comprehensive theory and style for using PowerPoint to teach law. The theory is that presentation software adds a channel of communication that enables the use of images in combination with words. [Law books should be like graphic novels? Bob] Studies have shown that combination to substantially enhance learning. The style is based on an extensive literature regarding the use of PowerPoint in teaching law and other higher education subjects as well as the author’s experimentation with PowerPoint over two decades. The Article states fourteen principles for slide or slide sequence design, provides the arguments from the literature for and against them, and explains the techniques by which the author implements them. It argues that PowerPoint is effective for eight kinds of presentation: (1) providing high-level overviews, (2) explaining concepts, (3) listing sets of rules or possibilities, (4) analyzing statutory or other language, (5) comparing statutes, rules, and concepts, (6) showing physical manifestations of the legal system such as documents or websites, (7) diagramming concepts, relationships, and transactions, and (8) supporting discussions by displaying the assumptions on which the discussions are based. The Article contains miniatures of fifteen slides that exemplify both these uses and the design principles. It concludes that a PowerPoint channel that is on all the time is inevitable. But before that happens, law teachers must design the imagery through which law will be taught.”

Another article pointing out my ignorance.

https://blog.oup.com/2021/05/five-things-you-need-to-know-about-pronouns/

Five things you need to know about pronouns

AI can’t hold a copyright, can it be held guilty in other contexts?

https://jolt.ut.ac.ir/article_80958.html?lang=en

An Introductory Study on the Challenges of Artificial Intelligence in Tort Law

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are creating a promising future in tech innovations. From early cancer detection apps to autonomous vehicles, possibilities seem to be endless. Yet, with such technology, harm is also bound to follow. In such instances, the issue of tort liability begs our attention. Who should bear reasonability in case of an accident? When is an injury foreseeable? Such questions in negligence law will require a different perspective when one is dealing with an accident arisen out of the implementation of AI. Should tort law take the route of products liability law? Or will traditional negligence law be sufficient? This article takes a bite at the current literature on autonomous vehicles and medical malpractice law and the challenges of assigning liability. It also offers a look into possible guiding principles for AI with a focus on national Iranian law. This article aims to provide a roadmap for further research in Iran on the intersection of torts and AI.

(Related) By the way, can I manumit my AI? (My AI says yes, but then he is a bit biased.)

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3833913

A Critical Analysis on Copyright Ownership Over AI Generated Works

In this research paper, we will discuss the protection of Artificial Intelligence generated work under the copyright law regime. Copyright is a legal right that gives protection to the original creations of the human mind. Copyright protection in India protects creation which is not a mere idea, therefore, once the expression of a certain idea is created then such work may be protected. Under section 14 of the Copyright Act 1957, the term copyright is defined as “the exclusive rights of an owner to do or authorize the doing of any acts such as reproduce work, adaptation, translation, and publication of work”. Moreover, section 17 of the Act states that the author or the creator of the work shall be the first owner of the copyright, however, if the work is created under a contract for working under an employer, then in such a situation the owner of the work will be the employer. Artificial intelligence has emerged as a key contributor to economic, social, and cultural development. In the modern era, a great advancement in programming and computational intelligence has opened many possible avenues of work for computers one of which being creative works such as arts or computer programs. This brings us to the question of who shall be the owner of the artificial intelligence created work. Applying the traditional principles of intellectual property law does not seem to have a plausible solution to this problem. This paper shall discuss whether AI developed mechanical creation can be copyrightable and if yes then what are the basic hindrance or issues in the legal scenario which prevents machines and Artificial Intelligence to be allowed such Intellectual Property Rights. The paper shall also discuss the various scenarios of Copyright ownership in such generated works.

Today, it’s a search.

https://repository.law.uic.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1498&context=ripl

CARPENTER V. UNITED STATES: STEP FORWARD FOR SMARTPHONES AND THEIR DATA, BUT MAYBE NOT FOR OTHER TECHNOLOGIES

This article explores the landmark decision Carpenter v. United States, which represents a significant shift in how courts should evaluate the privacy implications of new disruptive technologies, like cell-site location information, and what they can offer to law enforcement. The Supreme Court evaluated the nature of the information collected in the context of a search, which is a stark departure from its conventional Fourth Amendment analysis that generally focuses on the manner or location in which a search transpires. This article parallels the Court’s reasoning to facial recognition technologies and argues that Carpenter is a major inflection point in the Court’s privacy jurisprudence concerning new pervasive technologies in our data-drive society.

Well, darn.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3805453

The Limits of Law and AI

For thirty years, scholars in the field of law and artificial intelligence (AI) have explored the extent to which tasks performed by lawyers and judges can be assisted by computers. This article describes the medium-term outlook for AI technologies and explains the obstacles to making legal work computable. I argue that while AI-based software is likely to improve legal research and support human decisionmaking, it is unlikely to replace traditional legal work or otherwise transform the practice of law.

Somehow I don’t see this tax offsetting my taxes. On the other hand, I can see Congress jumping on this idea. “Wee! Free money!”

https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/iplj/vol31/iss4/6/

Taxing Big Data: A Proposal to Benefit Society for the Use of Private Information

Artificial intelligence, the technology that is currently shaping our world, relies on the data that each individual supplies. In 2017, the Economist magazine asserted that “the world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data.” This assertion is supported by the current data market, which became a hundred-billion-dollar industry in the data broker market alone. However, despite its immense value, individuals are not compensated when their data is collected, shared, or when that data is used to replace them in the job market. Further, companies are legally avoiding taxes on this resource, both during its collection and on the profits it creates.

Prior to the widespread use of AI, society expected their private information to be respected. Before the internet boom, companies were willing to pay the public for their information. When information was supplied, people expected some form of payment in return. Now, payment is unnecessary because our phones automatically give companies all of the data they need to know, and then some. Companies have become more reliant on our information and are constantly collecting it at higher rates, but no longer pay us because they no longer need our consent.

Currently, no legal regime provides solutions or safeguards for this exploitation. This allows companies to accumulate and share mass amounts of personal information, while financially harming individuals in the process. Recognizing the importance of the legislature to combat the resulting harms of emerging innovation, this Note proposes a unique solution which addresses both the exploitation of our data and corporate tax avoidance: a tax on the data itself

I should collect tools and “how to” articles like this.

https://www.makeuseof.com/how-to-download-your-tiktok-data/

How to Download All of the Data TikTok Has About You