Does “remove” mean more than deportation?

https://www.bespacific.com/meet-the-alien-terrorist-removal-court/

Meet the Alien Terrorist Removal Court

“The Alien Terrorist Removal Court has existed since 1996.  The attorney general submits applications for removal to the court under seal. According to the Federal Judicial Center, it has never received an application since its founding. Until this week.. Seamus Hughes of Court Watch broke the news Saturday of its first use — and the creation of a bare-bones court website. In its first order, the Alien Terrorist Removal Court rejected for now the Trump administration’s application to remove an unidentified individual but gave it a chance to supplement the record, noting that “the Government could benefit from the opportunity for more thoughtful consideration.” The best reporting and analysis on this new development:

• Politico: Trump administration activates never-before-used ‘alien terrorist’ deportation court

• Chris Geidner: The Trump admin DOJ went to a secretive deportation court this week

• Steve Vladeck: Here’s what we know, and why we should (and shouldn’t) be worried.

Hit a few billion dollar data centers and you’ll start to get people’s attention.

https://www.euronews.com/2026/07/21/irans-irgc-claims-attack-on-amazons-main-data-hub-in-bahrain

Iran's IRGC claims attack on Amazon's main data hub in Bahrain

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed on Tuesday that its Aerospace Force targeted and "destroyed" the central data infrastructure of the US company Amazon in Bahrain using several cruise missiles.

Interesting. Who needs well researched data?

https://thenextweb.com/news/google-ai-overviews-social-platforms-brightedge

Google’s AI cited Facebook 19.5 million times, new research finds

When Google’s AI answers a question, it is increasingly not reading a website. It is reading a Facebook post. New data suggests social platforms have become a core source for Google’s AI answers. Often the user never visits the platform at all.

The findings come from BrightEdge, an enterprise SEO firm. Its tool tracks roughly 300 million monthly searches. As with any single-vendor study, the numbers are BrightEdge’s own, but the direction of travel is hard to ignore.

The numbers

BrightEdge says Facebook appeared as a source in 19.5 million Google AI Overviews. Instagram appeared 877,000 times, and TikTok 78,000 times.

Put another way, the firm reckons one in 15 searches is now answered using social media. That makes Meta’s platforms, it says, the single biggest resource feeding Google’s AI answers.

Yes. (No one can justify being AI ignorant.)

https://www.bespacific.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-competent-lawyer-in-the-age-of-ai/

What Does It Mean to Be a Competent Lawyer in the Age of AI?

Via LLRX – What Does It Mean to Be a Competent Lawyer in the Age of AI?  – Berkeley Law recently announced a new artificial intelligence policy that prohibits AI use for any purpose in any exam situation. The University of Chicago Law School has banned first year law students from using electronic devices – laptops, tablets and phones – in the classroom. In light of these recent events, Prof. Robert Diab presents a timely discussion about whether law professors in Canada have an ethical or pedagogical duty to familiarize themselves with AI and develop methods of teaching students how to use it effectively. He also discussed the greater question of how AI has and will impact what it means to practice law competently.

AI will solve all our problems!

https://thenextweb.com/news/ai-advice-suppresses-critical-thinking-wrong-answers-study

AI advice made people three times less accurate but twice as confident, researchers found

Researchers from three French and Italian universities found that access to AI advice collapsed people’s willingness to say “I don’t know” from 44% to 3%. Accuracy dropped from 27% to 9%. Confidence, meanwhile, rose from 30% to 76%. “People became much worse, the accuracy was only one third, but they were twice as confident,” said Valerio Capraro, associate professor at the University of Milano-Bicocca.

(Related)

https://www.bespacific.com/we-are-losing-the-ability-to-discover-what-we-didnt-know-to-ask/

We Are Losing the Ability to Discover What We Didn’t Know to Ask

The New York Times Gift Article: “More than 60 percent of Google searches in the United States now end without the user clicking on a link. We type a question, read an artificial-intelligence-generated summary of the results and leave with our answer. Google is hardly alone. Claude, ChatGPT and upstart competitors like Perplexity do roughly the same thing: They take a question and swiftly return an answer, compressing what used to be a meandering journey through the internet into an immediate arrival at your destination. The explorative phase of searches — clicking through links, stumbling onto unexpected pages, following a reference that leads to somewhere unplanned — is disappearing. For anyone who publishes on the internet, this is a troubling development, since it lowers website traffic and makes protecting and profiting from your intellectual property more difficult. But you might think it is good news for internet users. Could there be anything wrong with getting a reliable answer more quickly? There is. By shortening the time between asking a question and getting an answer, these tools are actually undermining curiosity — and paradoxically threatening our ability to understand the world. About a decade ago, I worked at Google. When I was there, we often measured the value of internet content based on factors that indicated user engagement, like clicks and scroll depth. The metric Google seemed to reward — people exploring — is precisely what its A.I. products are now designed to eliminate…”

No uniform control of their products?

https://thenextweb.com/news/google-ai-search-unsafe-schools-common-sense-media

Common Sense Media says Google’s AI Search poses an “unacceptable risk” to students. Google cannot turn it off.

Common Sense Media concluded that Google’s AI-powered Search poses an “unacceptable risk” to young users and recommended that students stop using it entirely until schools can disable the AI features. The child safety watchdog found that AI Mode readily completed homework assignments for minors, repeated misinformation with an air of authority, and exposed children to generative AI experiences powered by Gemini models that are age-gated in every other Google product.

Maury Nichols found this one. Maybe I can buy one used?

https://www.thedrive.com/news/how-texas-police-spent-4-5-million-on-four-chevy-tahoes

How Texas Police Spent $4.5 Million on Four Chevy Tahoes

Ominous Israeli surveillance tech is now being deployed on American roads.  FalcoNet, brought to you by a company called Cognyte (Israel’s Palantir rival), secretly tracks people by intercepting the connection between your phone and the nearest cell tower. The idea is that you can strap this bad boy to a helicopter, backpack, or Chevy Tahoe and gobble up everybody’s data as you cruise around. It’s already in use in Florida. This year, Texas State Police bought a little fleet of FalcoNet-equipped SUVs for just under $4.5 million. I found the purchase receipt and FalcoNet user guide to learn a little more about it.

In March of 2026, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Criminal Investigations Division asked for approval to spend $4,487,500 on a Cognyte surveillance setup. Actually, what they requested was “approval for emergency purchase necessary to protect the safety and welfare of state personnel and property. Delaying the procurement process could result in unacceptable safety risks to personnel and compromise operational readiness.”

The request memo is chock-full of urgency and dramatic language—peppered with terms like “emergency” and “immediate.” But no specifics are mentioned. “Any delay in procuring would compromise employee safety, public safety, operational readiness, and overall mission success,” the memo states, without saying how or why this brand-new, very expensive technology is suddenly essential to operations.

“Forgetting” might be a mistake. Perhaps we should keep all data but flag that which is in dispute or clearly erroneous. How can we identify “new” copies of forgotten data?

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/18479790261468434

Can artificial intelligence forget? Reflections on the right to disappear in a world where algorithms remember everything

The development of artificial intelligence has profoundly reshaped the ways in which personal data are generated, processed, and retained, placing intelligent systems at the heart of debates on privacy and fundamental rights. This article examines, from a European Union legal perspective, the application of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to AI and assesses whether the principles and rights enshrined in European law—particularly the rights to erasure, to be forgotten, and to rectification—can be effectively exercised once information has been absorbed by machine learning models. The study examines the main legal and technical challenges arising from the nature of AI, which does not store data in a static form but transforms it into knowledge, thereby complicating its localisation, alteration, or deletion. It also analyses the relationship between the GDPR and the Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA), emphasising their complementary roles and the need to ensure coherence between the two regulatory frameworks. From a legal and ethical standpoint, the paper considers phenomena inherent to AI systems—such as hallucinations, algorithmic bias, and neurodata—to illustrate how they challenge essential principles such as accuracy, minimisation, and purpose limitation, and how they test the rights of individuals in contexts where information cannot truly be “forgotten”. Finally, it proposes alternative mechanisms, mitigation strategies, and emerging solutions aimed at preserving individuals’ effective control over their data in the algorithmic age, thereby reinforcing privacy protection and public trust in the responsible use of new technologies.

Well, he does impact the stock market, but access to the betting sites might be more valuable.

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/trump-media-pitched-100000-monthly-fee-fast-feed-us-presidents-posts-ft-reports-2026-07-17/

Trump Media pitched $100,000 monthly fee for fastest feed of US president's posts, sources say

Are we learning to fear the drones?

https://thenextweb.com/news/pentagon-freezes-155-wind-projects-drone-threat

The Pentagon froze 155 wind projects in 24 states, claiming drones can hide in wind farms

The year-long freeze affects 44 gigawatts of capacity and has cost developers $2 billion. The wind industry says it is the latest political attack on renewables.

If something as simple as when the sun is directly overhead befuddles legislatures, what else are they getting wrong?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marshallshepherd/2026/07/16/daylight-saving-time-debate-reveals-science-literacy-hole/

Daylight Saving Time Debate Reveals Science Literacy Hole

The U.S. House recently passed the Sunshine Protection Act, a bill proposing permanent daylight saving time, though its passage in the Senate remains uncertain. This legislative debate has exposed a significant science literacy gap, with many mistakenly believing that adjusting clocks affects the actual amount of sunlight delivered to Earth. The article emphasizes that Daylight Saving Time and time zones are entirely human constructs. Clock changes simply shift daylight relative to our daily schedules, without altering natural factors like latitude, Earth's tilt, or seasons that truly determine daylight duration. A similar attempt at permanent DST in the 1970s was quickly abandoned, suggesting potential challenges ahead.

Still not ready for prime time.

https://www.axios.com/2026/07/18/ai-lawyers-judges-balancing-act

May (A)I approach the bench?

Judges are becoming AI firewalls, setting guidelines for lawyers and litigants entering their courtrooms and reprimanding those who fail to vet their research or cite fake AI-generated cases.

• But judges are also navigating how to use the tech themselves.

… Case in point: Last month, a federal judge in Mississippi punished four lawyers and canceled a civil trial after both sides cited fake, AI-generated cases. And it's not just lawyers who have faced heat.

• Damien Charlotin, a senior research fellow at HEC Paris, has identified more than 1,700 cases where generative AI hallucinated.

• On Thursday, a federal judge in Michigan accused the government of likely citing an AI-generated case in an immigration-related filing.

• While Chief Judge Hala Jarbou, a Trump appointee, did not impose sanctions, she wrote that "the Government must ensure its future filings with this Court do not include nonexistent case law."

Did I miss this earlier?

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6985419

How to Maintain Our Privacy in the AI Age

This essay, written as part of the Wall Street Journal's USA250 series, argues that today's privacy laws aren't working because they put the onus on us to guard our data. This approach fails because digital technologies are too complicated for us to manage. Instead, to be effective, privacy laws must hold companies accountable. Whenever a company creates an unreasonable risk of harm through uses of data or through AI algorithms, the company must be held responsible. The essay proposes measures such as rigorous data minimization, fiduciary duties, liability for negligent or reckless technological design, liability for algorithms that cause harm, and multi-stakeholder review of technologies.

So where was the US? Is China winning by default?

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/twenty-nine-countries-sign-agreement-establish-global-ai-cooperation-body-2026-07-16/

Twenty-nine countries sign agreement to establish global AI cooperation body

Twenty-nine countries on Thursday signed an agreement to establish the World AI Cooperation Organization, ‌an intergovernmental body China says aims to promote international cooperation and global governance in artificial intelligence.

Probably a good thing, but what happens if the teens or adults flagged refuse to discuss it? Is there a mandatory psych hold?

https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/16/meta-now-alerts-parents-if-their-teen-discussed-suicide-or-self-harm-with-its-ai-chatbot/

Meta now alerts parents if their teen discussed suicide or self-harm with its AI chatbot

Meta announced on Thursday that it will now notify parents if their teen discusses suicide or self-harm with the company’s Meta AI chatbot. Meta says it’s also working on the ability to contact emergency services if someone’s conversations suggest they may be at imminent risk of suicide.

... Meta says it has built a dedicated AI system to identify conversations where a teen makes a clear reference to hurting themselves.

“We understand how distressing these alerts may be for a parent to receive,” Meta wrote in a blog post. “That’s why, as we continue to improve our detection, all chats flagged by our AI will be manually reviewed before an alert is sent. If a teen’s intent is ambiguous, we’ll err on the side of caution and alert the parent.

… Additionally, Meta says it will contact emergency services if someone’s conversation with Meta AI, whether the user is an adult or a teen, suggests someone is at risk of suicide.

Probably not the only country to try this. Should be amusing to watch…

https://thenextweb.com/news/south-korea-free-ai-chatbot-all-citizens-domestic-models

South Korea will give all 52 million citizens free AI access, becoming the first G20 nation to do so

South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT opened bidding on July 13 for a free, unlimited AI chatbot and public-service agent available to all 52 million residents.  The programme, called “AI for Everyone,” would make South Korea the first G20 nation to offer AI to its entire population as a public service. Two or three companies will be selected and given up to 512 Nvidia B200 GPUs from the government, with applications open through August 11 and a beta launch in September.

Apparently even lawyers see AI as a useful tool.

https://www.bespacific.com/ai-native-firms-are-luring-frustrated-lawyers-away-from-big-law/

AI-Native Firms Are Luring Frustrated Lawyers Away From Big Law

BloombergLaw  [no paywall ]: “AI-native firms may not be taking Big Law’s market share, but they are making incursions into a valuable asset: talent. “The AI-forward attorneys are chafing at the slow pace of firm adoption and archaic thinking,” said Sam Shaddox, 38, a co-founder of Seattle’s Talairis Law Group. “They’re migrating to the firms that are leading the way on AI, or leaving Big Law entirely to chart their own path.” Shaddox and Matt Souza met at the University of Washington School of Law, cut their teeth at Perkins Coie, and spent years inside legal departments of Seattle-area tech companies. In May, they launched Talairis Law Group to advise startups with the help of AI agents. The number of law firms branded as “AI-native” or “AI-powered” is growing quickly, backed by millions in venture capital. Many of their leaders left major law firms early in their careers to launch businesses aimed at young companies and entrepreneurs. Logan Brown, a 30-year-old Harvard graduate and former Cooley LLP associate, officially launched Soxton AI in New York in December. JP Mohler, 36, was an associate at WilmerHale and Cooley after Harvard Law School and tinkered with AI tools at Casetext and Reuters before forming General Legal through Y Combinator with two co-founders. Some Big Law veterans are also heeding the call. Norm Law appointed Mike Schmidtberger, the former Sidley Austin executive committee chair in January. Moritz, a San Francisco firm whose CEO and co-founder served as OpenAI counsel, has hired attorneys from Cooley, Goodwin Procter, and Fenwick & West. General Legal’s 14 full-time lawyers are almost entirely Big Law alumni. They were recruited in part because mid-level associates are “frustrated” by a partnership track that offers little control and years of deferred reward, Mohler said. All full-time lawyers receive equity in the company, which provides flat-fee contract and employment law services. General Legal has raised $11.5 million and reached $2 million in annualized revenue, Mohler said. That’s a speck of what large firms see in revenue each year and less than one-fifth of what the average Kirkland & Ellis partner earns in annual profits. Still, Mohler has lofty goals. “Ten years, it will be the biggest law firm in the world,” he said. Change will unfold “a lot faster than any previous kind of disruptive cycle.” He says he is aiming for “venture capital scale”—meaning a company ultimately valued between $10 billion to $100 billion…” AI-native law firms like Soxton and Talairis are built around artificial intelligence from the ground up—every workflow, pricing model, and staffing decision is designed assuming AI does the first pass of the work…”

Does AI really cause population decline?

https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2026/07/14/2003860695

China can ban AI boyfriends, but cannot make men listen

A man who listens with empathy, offers emotional support and is available whenever you need him? Sounds ideal. As Elon Musk’s Grok serves up pig-tailed, scantily clad anime-girl companions, China’s artificial intelligence romance boom has found a different audience: women.

That might explain why Beijing is moving to rein it in. At a time of plunging marriage and birth rates, China is set to become the first country to impose comprehensive rules aimed at curbing the harms of anthropomorphic AI, with a new regulation taking effect next week.

Too logical to survive?

https://thenextweb.com/news/australia-ai-policy-copyright-energy

Australia tells AI data centres to put back more power than they take out

Anthony Albanese has told the AI industry that Australian books, music, and journalism are not free training data, and that any large data centre built in the country will have to put more electricity into the grid than it draws out. Neither of those things is law yet.

… The energy obligation is the sharpest thing in the speech. Operators of the next generation of large data centres would be required to underwrite new power supply, pay their full share of grid connection so that no costs land on homes or businesses, and put at least as much energy into the grid as they take out of it.

It’s kind of a person for AI that can’t be a person.

https://thenextweb.com/news/delaware-aic-ai-agent-legal-entity-sandbox

Delaware wants to give AI agents their own legal identity

Delaware wants to give AI agents something no one has offered them before: a legal identity of their own. The proposed Delaware AIC would let an autonomous system run a company, sign contracts, and face lawsuits in its own name, all inside a supervised sandbox.