These are other people's headlines, not mine. Linking a story is not an endorsement of it, and I have not verified every claim in every piece. Read them the way you would read anything: with the outlet's name in view.
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Updated August 8, 2026
Artificial intelligence
What the systems can actually do, who is deploying them, and what that costs the people on the receiving end.
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OpenAI’s expensive smart speaker will use moving parts to seem “more alive”
Ars Technica
Gurman report claims OpenAI confirmed the speaker is not an Apple ripoff.
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China’s AI ecosystem is not as open as it claims. Nor is any other country’s | Letters
The Guardian
Responding to an article by China’s ambassador to the UK, Prof Paul H Cleverley advocates shared openness standards, while Dr Claire Jenkins says British AI can offer a distinctive path Ambassador Zheng Zeguang rightly...
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Is the promise of AI living up to the hype? | Fiona Katauskas
The Guardian
It’s certainly increasing its output See more of Fiona Katauskas’s cartoons here Continue reading...
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AI chatbots have failed people in crisis. Can that be fixed?
Ars Technica
Clinicians and researchers say AI companies need to open up their safety data.
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ByteDance trains massive AI model in bid to rival Anthropic
Ars Technica
TikTok owner training a model with 10 trillion parameters.
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The White House’s plan to vet potentially dangerous AI is cloaked in secrecy
The Guardian
A Trump administration framework on AI testing leaves a lack of transparency – and plenty of open questions After months of talking with tech industry leaders, the Trump administration finalized a framework this week...
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‘This is very real redlining’: outrage in Little Rock as two datacenters loom
The Guardian
Critics decry proposed hyperscale projects, fearing overuse of water and electricity, and ‘appropriating rural, Black-owned land for industrial purposes ’ There seems to be a fight over datacenters in nearly every city...
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Trump orders new 15% tariff on key material for solar panels and microchips
The Guardian
Move to raise levy on goods made with polysilicon aims to protect domestic US supply chains from China, the major producer Donald Trump has ordered a new 15% tariff on imported products made of polysilicon, an important...
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One of science fiction’s greatest writers warned us about a AI. Does he also hold the remedy? | Alan Finkel
The Guardian
What might a modern day equivalent of Isaac Asimov’s laws of robotics look like? Guided by the author, I propose the three laws of AI Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk predicted in July that legions of AI-powered...
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Suno hopes to go legit with watermarks for AI-generated music
Ars Technica
Suno plans watermarks and download limits to stop "large-scale abuse."
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Anthropic will design its own hardware to power Claude
Ars Technica
Anthropic and OpenAI are racing to scale up while reducing dependence on Nvidia.
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Large genome models used to design new viruses
Ars Technica
The AI system makes genetically distant versions of a bacteria-killing virus.
Coercive control and technology-facilitated abuse
Surveillance inside relationships, stalkerware, and the safety practice built around both.
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A Queensland domestic violence victim was promised a voice – then told she was no longer welcome to call the minister’s office
The Guardian
Some of the victim-survivors who produced an official report for the state critical of police say their work has been buried and their members ignored When the Queensland minister, Amanda Camm, announced her hand-picked...
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‘He should resign’: unease in Republican Max Miller’s Ohio district amid domestic abuse allegations
The Guardian
Voters in the red district are concerned with congressman’s alleged behavior and political future ahead of the midterms David Griffith was a registered Republican for years. But on Sunday evening, he watched the Ohio...
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What kind of society fast-tracks early release for domestic abusers? This is gambling with women’s lives | Joan Smith
The Guardian
Andy Burnham inherited the crisis in our prison system – but the solution cannot be to further endanger the women and children who have survived violence It’s time to be blunt: the government is about to expose hundreds...
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Ohio Republican Max Miller faces growing calls to resign over domestic abuse allegations
The Guardian
Miller calls women accusing him liars as Republican senator Bernie Moreno says former son-in-law unfit for Congress Max Miller, the beleaguered US Republican representative from Ohio, has vowed to defy a rising...
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The inability to deliver the changes Indigenous Australians need is no longer just a moral failure but a civilisational one | Noel Pearson
The Guardian
After the rejection of the voice, the conversation about structural reform of the federal arrangements governing Aboriginal affairs must resume Indigenous leaders look to the future at Garma: ‘People are feeling strong...
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Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts deride family law system, calling DV a ‘weapon’ and court a ‘slaughterhouse’
The Guardian
Exclusive: Resurfaced comments by the One Nation leader underline her criticism of paid family violence leave and domestic violence support groups Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking...
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The Rollback of Instagram Encryption, and What It Means for Survivor Safety
NNEDV Safety Net
As of May 8, 2026, Instagram has removed the option for end-to-end encryption in direct messages. In practical terms, this means messages that were previously only accessible to the sender and recipient may now be...
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Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month at Safety Net: A Month in Review
NNEDV Safety Net
February always invites us to pause and reflect closely on young people and their relationships: the joy, vulnerability, and very real risks that can show up in both digital and in-person spaces. At the Safety Net...
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Google Safety Tool Updates Increase Options for Survivors
NNEDV Safety Net
Many victims and survivors of abuse have concerns about keeping their personal information safe online. Some abusers chose to misuse that information in order to stalk and harass survivors. This can make those concerns...
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Intertwined Events: National Stalking Awareness Month and Data Privacy Day #NSAM2026
NNEDV Safety Net
January is an important month in the tech safety world. It is National Stalking Awareness Month, and January 28 was Data Privacy Day. These are inextricably linked. Privacy of data – location data and contact...
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A Year of Safety Net: Supporting Survivor Safety in a Rapidly Changing Digital World
NNEDV Safety Net
As we close out 2025, one thing is clear: this has been a year of both emerging technology and ample conversation surrounding it. The “architects of AI” were named TIME’s Person of the Year, and ‘slop’, defined as...
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A Preventive Win for Survivor Safety: FTC Denies SpyFone Petition
NNEDV Safety Net
A keyboard with black keys, with one red key with a shadowy person wearing a spy hat. nnedv logo top right. text at bottom reads, “A Preventive Win for survivor safety: FTC Denies Spyfone petition. Last week, the...
Institutional accountability
Reporting on what institutions do to the people who depend on them, and on the records that prove it.
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Clarivate removes hold on mega-journal Heliyon after internal audit, 650+ retractions
Retraction Watch
Clarivate has lifted its hold on Heliyon after the journal’s internal audit led to over 1,000 retractions, expressions of concern and corrections. As a result, the journal will receive an impact factor in the coming...
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Decade-long fraud by market survey firm a ‘gut punch’ for researchers
Retraction Watch
In April 2025, David Victorson, a psychologist at Northwestern University in Chicago, was polishing several manuscripts for submission when a colleague sent him a link to a press release from the U.S. Department of...
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RFK Jr. questions another publisher on expression of concern for a vaccine paper
Retraction Watch
The U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services is once again questioning a publisher on an editorial action regarding a paper on vaccination. Published in Sage Open Medicine in 2020, the article looks at health...
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A composer published a paper on theoretical physics. His lack of credentials drew criticism.
Retraction Watch
Some people compose music or make YouTube videos for a hobby. That’s Brandon Yates’ job — so in his spare time, he tries his hand at theoretical physics. But his only published paper was questioned because of his lack...
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High-profile anesthesiologists earning retractions for data, image problems
Retraction Watch
In July 2021, John Loadsman received a manuscript about a clinical trial that immediately roused his suspicion. Then the editor-in-chief of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Loadsman asked the authors for the raw data...
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Celebrating Retraction Watch’s 16th birthday, how sweet it is
Retraction Watch
Suddenly, we’re 16. And what a year it has been. Our birthday (and annual birthday post) comes on the heels of one of the biggest stories we’ve told this year: The unreported death of a 6-year-old girl whose parents...
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For the Second Time, Lawmakers Failed to Fix California’s Warning System for Teacher Misconduct
ProPublica
The post For the Second Time, Lawmakers Failed to Fix California’s Warning System for Teacher Misconduct appeared first on ProPublica .
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Andy Beshear Set Out to Make Drug Treatment Widely Available in Kentucky. Fraud and Abuse Followed.
ProPublica
The post Andy Beshear Set Out to Make Drug Treatment Widely Available in Kentucky. Fraud and Abuse Followed. appeared first on ProPublica .
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How Videos Helped Me Uncover Abuse at an Arkansas Private School
ProPublica
The post How Videos Helped Me Uncover Abuse at an Arkansas Private School appeared first on ProPublica .
Privacy and surveillance
Data brokers, monitoring, and the law that does or does not restrain them.
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Canadian Man Pleads Guilty in Snowflake Extortions
Krebs on Security
A 26-year-old Canadian man once described as one of the most consequential cybercrime threat actors of 2024 has pleaded guilty to computer fraud and conspiracy to hack and extort more than 165 organizations that used...
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Mobile Ad Software Encourages Location Data Sharing, EFF Report Finds
EFF Deeplinks
Developers Must Beware of Ad Libraries that Betray Users’ Privacy SAN FRANCISCO – Some software development kits (SDKs) provided by advertising companies to help developers monetize their apps are automatically feeding...
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Developers: Beware of Ad Libraries that Betray Your Users’ Location Privacy
EFF Deeplinks
Across mobile platforms, advertising companies provide developers with software development kits (SDKs) that make it easy to monetize their apps. But those same SDKs can automatically feed users’ location data into ad...
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EPIC, Coalition Urge Senate Commerce Committee to Advance Youth AI Privacy Act
EPIC
On Wednesday, the Senate Commerce Committee will consider the Youth AI Privacy Act, important legislation that would establish federal privacy and safety protections for minors using AI chatbots. EPIC and a coalition of...
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PRESS RELEASE: Coalition Challenges Dramatic Data Privacy Changes to Federal Assistance Program
EPIC
Trump-Vance Administration Seeks to Allow Family Support Program to be Weaponized by Immigration Officials WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new legal challenge has been filed to the Trump-Vance administration’s effort to unlawfully...
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PRESS RELEASE: Coalition Challenges Dramatic Data Privacy Changes to Federal Assistance Program
EPIC
Trump-Vance Administration Seeks to Allow Family Support Program to be Weaponized by Immigration Officials WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new legal challenge has been filed to the Trump-Vance administration’s effort to unlawfully...
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Illinois Governor Signs Age-Appropriate Design Code into Law
EPIC
On Friday, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law the Children’s Social Media Safety Act, a significant piece of legislation that regulates harmful platform design for minors, such as addictive feeds and overnight push...
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EPIC Urges FTC to Abandon Misleading Guidance Suggesting Consumer Protection Laws Preempt State AI Regulations
EPIC
On Friday, EPIC submitted comments urging the FTC to rescind its recent policy statement on AI regulations, which falsely suggests that companies could violate federal consumer protection law by complying with state AI...
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PRESS RELEASE: Challenge to DOGE’s Unlawful Seizure of Payment System Data Advances
EPIC
Court Rejects Government’s Request to Dismiss Case WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an order denying the Trump-Vance administration’s motion to dismiss in Electronic Privacy Information Center v. Office of Personnel Management...
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San Francisco: Don’t Fall for Industry Defense of Surveillance Pricing
EFF Deeplinks
The concept of “surveillance pricing” is just one part of a much larger problem and business model: corporations maximizing their profits by invading our privacy. The all-too-common business model is to systematically...
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Brazil gives parents social media controls for their kids. Should the US?
The Markup
California is leading on kids’ data privacy in the U.S. but still lags internationally.
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Hundreds of Drone-as-First-Responder Programs Could Soon Be Launched Across the Country
EFF Deeplinks
Police departments across the country are lining up to launch drone-as-first-responder (DFR) programs, and hundreds have cleared a necessary hurdle toward making deployment a reality, expanding aerial surveillance and...
Where these come from
The full source list lives in the repository, in
_data/news_sources.yml. Suggest an addition and I will look at it.
- Ars Technica
- MIT Technology Review
- The Guardian
- NNEDV Safety Net
- ProPublica
- Retraction Watch
- EFF Deeplinks
- EPIC
- The Markup
- Krebs on Security