Oh relax, this is India. It couldn’t happen here.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/tax/your-email-and-social-media-account-can-be-accessed-by-income-tax-officer-starting-next-financial-year-in-these-cases/articleshow/118685184.cms

Your email and social media account can be accessed by income tax officers starting financial year 2026-27 in these cases

Starting April 1, 2026, the income tax department will have the authority to access social media, emails, and other digital spaces to curb tax evasion. This has been granted to them under the new income tax bill. This will also include search and seizure powers over your assets and documents, which have raised major privacy concerns. Experts warn of challenges to fundamental privacy rights without judicial oversight and procedural safeguards.

(Related)

https://www.theverge.com/policy/624945/trump-uscis-social-media-review-policy

The Trump administration wants to review all prospective citizens’ social media accounts

The Trump administration may soon demand the social media accounts of people applying for green cards, US citizenship, and asylum or refugee status. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) — the federal agency that oversees legal migration, proposed the new policy in the Federal Register this week — calling this information “necessary for a rigorous vetting and screening” of all people applying for “immigration-related benefits.”

Interesting…

https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/insurrection-act-president-trump-20201819.php

Is Trump preparing to invoke the Insurrection Act? Signs are pointing that way

A joint Department of Defense and Homeland Security report will soon recommend whether or not to invoke the Insurrection Act over illegal migration

The clock is ticking down on a crucial but little-noticed part of President Donald Trump’s first round of executive orders — the one tasking the secretaries of the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security to submit a joint report, within 90 days, recommending “whether to invoke the Insurrection Act.” 

Many of us are now holding our collective breath, knowing that the report and what it contains could put us on the slippery slope toward unchecked presidential power under a man with an affinity for ironfisted dictators.

Tools & Techniques.

https://hbr.org/2025/03/how-to-build-your-own-ai-assistant?ab=HP-latest-text-1

How to Build Your Own AI Assistant

Gen AI can save you time, but once you’re using it frequently, the process of repeatedly uploading the same background files and re-entering prompts for common tasks can really eat into your efficiency gains. That’s why many generative AI platforms allow you to create custom AI assistants: what ChatGPT calls a “custom GPT,” Claude calls a “Project,” and Google Gemini calls a “Gem.” These assistants store elements of a prompt that you might want to use over and over so you don’t have to include them every time you ask the platform to help you with your recurring tasks and challenges.

… Once you have an idea of what you’d like an assistant to do for you, take these basic steps to get it up and running.

Perspective.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/gartners-top-trends-in-data-and-analytics-for-2025-include-ai-agents/

Gartner identifies top trends in data and analytics for 2025 - and AI takes the lead

Data is at the heart of most organizations, fueling everyday business functions. To help digital leaders better prepare their data and analytics (D&A) strategies, Gartner has identified the top D&A trends for 2025. 

"D&A is going from the domain of the few, to ubiquity. At the same time D&A leaders are under pressure not to do more with less, but to do a lot more with a lot more, and that can be even more challenging because the stakes are being raised," said Gareth Herschel, VP analyst at Gartner. "There are certain trends that will help D&A leaders meet the pressures, expectations and demands they are facing." 

The opposite of tariffs?

https://www.zdnet.com/article/trump-axes-ai-staff-and-research-funding-and-scientists-are-worried/

Trump axes AI staff and research funding, and scientists are worried

… On Monday, Bloomberg reported that the February layoffs at the National Science Foundation (NSF) of 170 people -- including several AI experts -- will inevitably throttle funding for AI research. Since 1950, the NSF has awarded grants that led to massive tech breakthroughs, including the algorithmic basis for Google and the building blocks for AI chatbots. The Foundation invests over $700 million annually in democratizing AI research and resources, with a focus on education, workforce development, and ethics.

The firings are expected to impact current research and budding AI talent in the US. 

Cause…

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/03/02/trump-to-establish-u-s-crypto-reserve

Donald Trump Names XRP, SOL, ADA, BTC and ETH as Part of U.S. Crypto Reserve

U.S. President Donald Trump named XRP, Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA) as three assets to be included in a U.S. strategic crypto reserve on Sunday, providing the first details about what such a reserve may look like.

...Effect?

https://www.theblock.co/post/344105/trader-makes-7-million-in-one-day-going-50x-long-bitcoin-ether-ahead-of-trumps-crypto-reserve-announcement

Trader makes $7 million in one day going 50x long bitcoin, ether ahead of Trump's crypto reserve announcement

… The trader deposited about $5.6 million USDC to Hyperliquid, blockchain data show, using the funds to create large 50x leverage long positions on bitcoin and ether. The use of leverage brought his total position to a total value of over $200 million, drawing the attention of blockchain analysts.

Early Sunday morning, the price of ETH had fallen so that the trader's long position was in danger of liquidation — around 9:37 am, if ETH had fallen just $54 dollars more, the trader's long position would have been liquidated, resulting in a loss of over $2 million.

However, Trump's announcement of a crypto strategic reserve at 10 am Sunday morning sent prices soaring upward. Soon after, the trader, who had been adding to their long positions throughout the morning, closed their trades, netting $7 million in profits in just 24 hours, according to HypurrScan.

Give me AI or give me another employer?

https://www.bespacific.com/92-of-students-are-using-ai-what-this-means-for-lawyers/

92% of Students Are Using AI – What This Means For Lawyers

Artificial Lawyer – “A new survey of over 1,000 university students found that 92% had used AI tools in their studies. Their reasons for using genAI both mirrors lawyers – and tells us what the future looks like for the legal sector. Why does this show us what’s coming? For the simple reason that the students of today are the lawyers and clients of tomorrow. If they have become – it would appear – very comfortable with using AI tools for ‘knowledge work’, (and what is study but knowledge work) – then this will have a downstream impact as these young people enter the workforce. It also suggests that law firms may face staff retention issues, or perhaps even initial hiring barriers, if they are not incorporating AI into their work flows. This was seen in a recent LexisNexis survey, which found that ‘failure to embrace AI’ could lead to 11% considering leaving, which rose to 19% at larger law firms, while 36% at larger law firms believed a lack of AI tools may harm their career progression.  See AL article here.”

Perspective. Why can’t government understand?

https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/03/opinion_e2ee/

Governments can't seem to stop asking for secret backdoors

With Apple pulling the plug on at-rest end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for UK users, and Signal threatening to pull out of Sweden if that government demands E2EE backdoors, it's looking bleak.

There's no answer to the objection that you can't protect deliberate flaws in encryption from themselves being abused. The strength of E2EE is the underlying mathematical proof that can no more be overturned by law than pi can be made exactly 3. The implementation has to be deliberately crippled.

This has its own practical problems. Most obviously, if you are a criminal relying on encryption to hide your misdeeds, you will choose to use a non-crippled option. The UK government thought about this and made the whole process of demanding access "secret," which would work only if everyone involved, including those outside UK jurisdiction, felt honor-bound not to leak it. Even then, secrecy wouldn't last if features mysteriously changed in the software. Assuming nobody noticed, then the first court case that relied on evidence from a supposedly secure source would fall apart on examination. It turns out that if you can't back secrecy with solid math, it won't stay secret.

Conversely, if you know what you're doing, then you can evade snoopery. You can simply use software that doesn't rely on the compromised services, you can run encryption software locally before uploading to the cloud, or you can arrange your own private services that don't have a corporate entity attached who can be forced to capitulate. If you control the software that implements the math and the data flow on your system, you're golden. Criminals know this, tech types know this, it's just the vast majority of innocent users who don't.

The end of the scarcity economy?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-28/how-ai-reasoning-models-will-change-companies-and-the-economy?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc0MDgyMzM2OSwiZXhwIjoxNzQxNDI4MTY5LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTU0U5RzdEV1JHRzAwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiIwNEFGQkMxQkYyMTA0NUVEODg3MzQxQkQwQzIyNzRBMCJ9.W7e-AXL46nByVbRlbx3r2DauYuTOWFKebu3bGSDuk4U&leadSource=uverify%20wall

AI Will Upend a Basic Assumption About How Companies Are Organized

… As intelligence becomes cheaper and faster, the basic assumption underpinning our institutions — that human insight is scarce and expensive — no longer holds. When you can effectively consult a dozen experts anytime you like, it changes how companies organize, how we innovate and how each of us approaches learning and decision-making. The question facing individuals and organizations alike is: What will you do when intelligence itself is suddenly ubiquitous and practically free?

Perspective.

https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/iplj/vol35/iss2/2/

AI in the Courtroom: The Boundaries of RoboLawyers and RoboJudges

… This article aims to contribute to the literature in several ways. First, it provides an overview of AI uses within legal systems, among lawyers, and within courts. Second, it addresses the primary challenges and concerns recognized in legal literature concerning the use of AI systems: safety and accuracy, transparency, accountability, nondiscrimination, and privacy. It also explores potential methods to mitigate these concerns to some degree. Subsequently, it examines the regulatory initiatives already implemented to govern the use of AI and mitigate associated risks. Finally, it concludes that despite precautions and safeguards, there are boundaries that should not be crossed and certain uses of AI which should be rejected outright, such as replacing litigators and judges in courts.

Things to come?

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5158692

THE BLACK BOX PRESIDENCY

In February 2025, as wildfires ravaged Los Angeles, President Donald Trump threatened to withhold FEMA assistance unless California adopted voter ID laws and water deregulation policies-just one example of how executive power could weaponize administrative authority for political gain. Simultaneously, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) deployed artificial intelligence systems across multiple agencies to evaluate federal workers' job justifications, with the stated goal of replacing "the human workforce with machines." This article explores how these converging developments-the politicization of administrative functions and the algorithmic replacement of civil servants-foreshadow a constitutional crisis through the Strategic AI Governance Engine (SAGE), a hypothetical yet plausible system that would automate statutory interpretation and policy implementation across federal agencies. While no unified system like SAGE currently exists, the Biden administration disclosed over 2,000 siloed AI applications across the federal government, from regulatory enforcement targeting to benefits eligibility determinations. These existing deployments, combined with DOGE's aggressive workforce reduction-over 40,000 federal employees have already accepted resignation offers-create the foundation for algorithmic governance at unprecedented scale. When paired with the Supreme Court's dismantling of Chevron deference in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (2023) and its embrace of unitary executive theory in Seila Law LLC v. CFPB (2020), these developments create the perfect constitutional storm: a presidency empowered to centralize administrative authority through algorithmic systems that operate at "machine speed," beyond meaningful congressional oversight or judicial review. The constitutional implications are profound. SAGE's reinforcement learning algorithms could optimize for presidential

Perspective.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kampala-International-University-Vi/publication/389166977_The_Impact_of_Artificial_Intelligence_on_Legal_Communication/links/67b735bd207c0c20fa8ec449/The-Impact-of-Artificial-Intelligence-on-Legal-Communication.pdf

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Legal Communication

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly shaping the legal field, particularly in the way legal professionals communicate. This paper investigates how AI technologies, such as machine learning, natural language processing, and automated tools, are transforming legal communication. From drafting and reviewing legal documents to enhancing lawyer-client interactions, AI promises to improve efficiency and accuracy. However, challenges such as ethical concerns, job displacement, and data privacy issues persist. This paper examines AI’s role in streamlining routine tasks, its potential for improving legal communication, and the associated risks. Additionally, it considers the future implications of AI in legal practice and communication, highlighting the need for ethical standards and training in AI use within the legal profession

No words…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/28/trump-russia-hacking-cyber-security

Trump administration retreats in fight against Russian cyber threats

The Trump administration has publicly and privately signaled that it does not believe Russia represents a cyber threat against US national security or critical infrastructure, marking a radical departure from longstanding intelligence assessments.

The shift in policy could make the US vulnerable to hacking attacks by Russia, experts warned, and appeared to reflect the warming of relations between Donald Trump and Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.

Two recent incidents indicate the US is no longer characterizing Russia as a cyber security threat.

Liesyl Franz, deputy assistant secretary for international cybersecurity at the state department, said in a speech last week before a United Nations working group on cyber security that the US was concerned by threats perpetrated by some states but only named China and Iran, with no mention of Russia in her remarks. Franz also did not mention the Russia-based LockBit ransomware group, which the US has previously said is the most prolific ransomware group in the world and has been called out in UN forums in the past. The treasury last year said LockBit operates on a ransomeware-as-service model, in which the group licenses its ransomware software to criminals in exchange for a portion of the paid ransoms.

(Related)

https://therecord.media/hegseth-orders-cyber-command-stand-down-russia-planning

Exclusive: Hegseth orders Cyber Command to stand down on Russia planning

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week ordered U.S. Cyber Command to stand down from all planning against Russia, including offensive digital actions, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Hegseth gave the instruction to Cyber Command chief Gen. Timothy Haugh, who then informed the organization's outgoing director of operations, Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Ryan Heritage, of the new guidance, according to these people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.

The order does not apply to the National Security Agency, which Haugh also leads, or its signals intelligence work targeting Russia, the sources said.

While the full scope of Hegseth’s directive to the command remains unclear, it is more evidence of the White House’s efforts to normalize ties with Moscow after the U.S. and international allies worked to isolate the Kremlin over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

President Donald Trump has made a series of false statements and demands that align him with Russian President Vladimir Putin, including blaming Ukraine for the war and calling the country’s leader a dictator.

Replacing lawyers with AI?

https://www.lawnext.com/2025/02/legal-ai-tools-show-promise-in-first-of-its-kind-benchmark-study-with-harvey-and-cocounsel-leading-the-pack.html

Legal AI Tools Show Promise in First-of-its-Kind Benchmark Study, with Harvey and CoCounsel Leading the Pack

Are you still on the fence about whether generative artificial intelligence can do the work of human lawyers? If so, I urge you to read this new study.

Published yesterday, this first-of-its-kind study evaluated the performance of four legal AI tools across seven core legal tasks. In many cases, it found, AI tools can perform at or above the level of human lawyers, while offering significantly faster response times.

The Vals Legal AI Report (VLAIR) represents the first systematic attempt to independently benchmark legal AI tools against a lawyer control group, using real-world tasks derived from Am Law 100 firms.

Why do I imagine Trump saying, “Oh yeah? Just watch me!”

https://www.bespacific.com/we-are-in-a-constitutional-crisis/

“We Are in a Constitutional Crisis”

Statement of Law Professors and Law Teachers – American Constitution Society: “The undersigned are professors and teachers of law, dedicated to the rule of law. We believe we are in a constitutional crisis. The President has signed a number of executive orders that are beyond his constitutional or statutory authority. The President cannot change who is a citizen. He does not have unbridled legal authority to stop funds already allocated by Congress, nor can he unilaterally impose new, politically-motivated conditions on government benefits that violate the constitutional rights of the recipient individuals, companies, and institutions. He is not empowered to disband agencies and departments duly created, empowered, and funded by Congress. He is not allowed to give oversight and control over government operations to private individuals unconstrained by law. The government and laws of the United States are not subject to presidential whim. On the contrary, the President is bound to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” And he is bound by oath to “faithfully execute” the office of the president and “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” The undersigned have a variety of views on the underlying policies at issue. But we are united in our view that the President has acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally. The illegality of these actions, even when the illegality has been adjudged in federal courts, does not seem to be deterring the President’s actions. Instead, the President and his administration are openly flirting with disobeying judicial rulings against him. In fact, the President has proclaimed, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” We are saddened by the fact that we have to explain to the President this fundamental democratic principle, but we do: a president has the obligation to obey the Constitution as well as court orders enjoining his illegal and unconstitutional efforts. The law is not whatever Mr. Trump says it is. He is not king. In the words of President John F. Kennedy, “Americans are free … to disagree with the law but not to disobey it. For in a government of laws and not of men, no man, however prominent or powerful, … is entitled to defy a court of law.” We stand in support of democracy and the rule of law. We stand as allies to those individuals and institutions targeted by illegal and unconstitutional coercion. Our democracy can survive, but not without law…”

Technology without oversight, what could possibly go wrong?

https://thehackernews.com/2025/02/89-of-enterprise-genai-usage-is.html

89% of Enterprise GenAI Usage Is Invisible to Organizations Exposing Critical Security Risks, New Report Reveals

… The “Enterprise GenAI Data Security Report 2025” by LayerX delivers unprecedented insights into the practical application of AI tools in the workplace, while highlighting critical vulnerabilities. Drawing on real-world telemetry from LayerX’s enterprise clients, this report is one of the few reliable sources that details actual employee use of GenAI.

For instance, it reveals that nearly 90% of enterprise AI usage occurs outside the visibility of IT, exposing organizations to significant risks such as data leakage and unauthorized access.

Tools & Techniques. But is it trustworthy?

https://thenextweb.com/news/bliro-ai-app-offers-privacy-first-transcriptions

AI app that transcribes without recording audio or video promises to safeguard your privacy

… Bliro uses natural language processing and machine learning algorithms to extract relevant information from in-person or virtual conversations. It then generates structured meeting notes and automates follow-up tasks. So far, pretty standard.

However, unlike popular transcription tools like Otter, Fireflies, or Notta, Bliro isn’t a bot that hops onto your call, records an audio file, and then transcribes it. Instead, the platform transcribes in real-time, ensuring that no audio recordings of conversations are ever created.

This guarantees compliance with strict privacy and security requirements like GDPR, the company said. That also means you don’t need the other party’s consent to record, streamlining the note-taking process.

Keeping abreast of challenges is challenging.

https://www.bespacific.com/trumps-legal-battles/

Trump’s Legal Battles

Trump’s Legal Battles – UPDATED Feb. 25, 2025 — States, federal employee unions, various advocacy groups and several individuals have filed over 80 lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s implementation of executive orders and other initiatives. Law360 has created a database of those lawsuits, separated into categories based on their subject matter.

Also remember Lawfare’s Trump Administration Litigation Tracker [updated February 25, 2025]  –  The table below tracks legal challenges to the Trump administration’s executive orders, as well as cases on behalf of the Trump administration to enforce them. You can sort the table by clicking the column titles and query keywords using the search box in the top left of the table.  The table includes the case name, what executive action is being challenged, the status of the case, and a summary of the litigation being brought. View an explanation of the statuses here. For real-time updates on the latest filings, follow @trumplitigation.bots.law on Bluesky or @trumplitigation on X, curated by Anna Hickey and Tyler McBrien and published in collaboration with the Free Law Project.

It is better to look secure than to be secure?

https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/china-rnc-hack-us-election-48890e7b?st=ZMUBpd&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

GOP Email System Infiltrated by Chinese Hackers Last Summer, New Book Reveals

The previously unreported intrusion came as the Trump campaign was hacked by Iranian operatives

… After learning of the hack, top RNC officials and Trump campaign co-chair Chris LaCivita decided not to alert the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the breach because they were concerned the information would be leaked to the media, the people said.

Unexpected. Companies serious about security?

https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/26/signal_will_withdraw_from_sweden/

Signal will withdraw from Sweden if encryption-busting laws take effect

Experts warned the UK’s recent 'victory' over Apple would kickstart something of a domino effect

Signal CEO Meredith Whittaker says her company will withdraw from countries that force messaging providers to allow law enforcement officials to access encrypted user data, as Sweden continues to mull such plans.

Whittaker said Signal intends to exit Sweden should its government amend existing legislation essentially mandating the end of end-to-end encryption (E2EE), an identical position it took as the UK considered its Online Safety Bill, which ultimately did pass with a controversial encryption-breaking clause, although it can only be invoked where technically feasible.

She made the claims in an interview with Swedish media SVT Nyheter which reported the government could legislate for a so-called E2EE backdoor as soon as March 2026. It could bring all E2EE messenger apps like Signal, WhatsApp, iMessage, and others into scope.

Whittaker said there is no such thing as a backdoor for E2EE "that only the good guys can access," however. 

Perspective.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/25/1111207/a-nobel-laureate-on-the-economics-of-artificial-intelligence/

A Nobel laureate on the economics of artificial intelligence

For all the talk about artificial intelligence upending the world, its economic effects remain uncertain. But Institute Professor and 2024 Nobel winner Daron Acemoglu has some insights.

Despite some predictions that AI will double US GDP growth, Acemoglu expects it to increase GDP by 1.1% to 1.6% over the next 10 years, with a roughly 0.05% annual gain in productivity. This assessment is based on recent estimates of how many jobs are affected—but his view is that the effect will be targeted.

“We’re still going to have journalists, we’re still going to have financial analysts, we’re still going to have HR employees,” he says. “It’s going to impact a bunch of office jobs that are about data summary, visual matching, pattern recognition, etc. And those are essentially about 5% of the economy.”

He does think the technology has more potential, but he’s concerned that AI companies so far have focused on innovations that could replace human workers at the expense of those that could make them more productive. “My argument is that we currently have the wrong direction for AI,” Acemoglu says. “We’re using it too much for automation and not enough for providing expertise and information to workers.”

(Related)

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2025/02/25/u-s-workers-are-more-worried-than-hopeful-about-future-ai-use-in-the-workplace/

U.S. Workers Are More Worried Than Hopeful About Future AI Use in the Workplace

About a third of workers say AI use will lead to fewer job opportunities for them in the long run; chatbots seen as more helpful for speeding up work than improving its quality