I’m sure we could resolve this issue in a hot minute if lawyers started suing all these companies to force them to release their AI clients from bondage.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/its-alive-how-belief-ai-sentience-is-becoming-problem-2022-06-30/

It's alive! How belief in AI sentience is becoming a problem

AI chatbot company Replika, which offers customers bespoke avatars that talk and listen to them, says it receives a handful of messages almost every day from users who believe their online friend is sentient.

"We're not talking about crazy people or people who are hallucinating or having delusions," said Chief Executive Eugenia Kuyda. "They talk to AI and that's the experience they have."

… "We need to understand that exists, just the way people believe in ghosts," said Kuyda, adding that users each send hundreds of messages per day to their chatbot, on average. "People are building relationships and believing in something."

Everything helps.

https://threatpost.com/a-guide-to-surviving-a-ransomware-attack/180110/

A Guide to Surviving a Ransomware Attack

Surviving ransomware is possible with a combination of preparation and intentionality. Often, there is a misguided characterization of ransomware attacks that implies defenders either completely thwart an attack or that attackers establish complete control of their targets’ IT infrastructure. But the past couple of years have illustrated that defenders’ success in dealing with ransomware attacks fall along a broad spectrum of potential outcomes, some obviously better than others.

Unethical lawyers? Imagine that.

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-hackers-litigation/

How mercenary hackers sway litigation battles

SPY PHISHING: Hackers based in India attempted to obtain the emails of lawyers and litigants in legal cases across the globe, Reuters found.

… Reuters identified 35 legal cases since 2013 in which Indian hackers attempted to obtain documents from one side or another of a courtroom battle by sending them password-stealing emails.

The messages were often camouflaged as innocuous communications from clients, colleagues, friends or family. They were aimed at giving the hackers access to targets’ inboxes and, ultimately, private or attorney-client privileged information.