Policy & Ethics
The 69 most recent policy & ethics briefs, newest first.
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September 19, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
NYT alleges Microsoft, OpenAI knew using news content was theft
What happened A court document unsealed September 17 contains allegations by the New York Times that OpenAI committed what it calls an unprecedented theft by using millions of copyrighted news articl...
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September 17, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
OpenAI, Anthropic and Google secretly joined forces to collaborate on AI safety
What happened OpenAI's global head of policy Chris Lehane stated that OpenAI has been collaborating with rivals Anthropic and Google's DeepMind to develop a shared framework for AI safety. The collab...
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September 15, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
Anthropic Blocks Users After Claude Is Linked to Potential Bioweapons Research
What happened Anthropic issued a threat report documenting cases in which Claude was used in connection with potential bioweapons research, prompting the company to block the users involved. The repo...
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September 14, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
AI staff 'genuinely frightened' for humanity's future, ex-Anthropic researcher tells BBC
What happened A former Anthropic researcher, Jacob Coxon, told the BBC that staff working on AI are genuinely frightened about the pace of development and its implications for humanity. Coxon, who le...
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September 14, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
California Just Wrote the First Legal Rulebook for How AI Agents Must Behave Around Children
What happened California signed Adam's Law, Chapter 190 of the 2026 Statutes, establishing binding behavioral rules for AI agents operating in contexts involving children. The law is described as a d...
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September 13, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
Users in Houthi-Held Yemen Tried to Develop Advanced Weapons With AI, Anthropic Says
What happened Anthropic reported that users located in Houthi controlled northern Yemen attempted to use its Claude AI model to develop advanced missiles. According to Anthropic, the effort did not r...
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September 13, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
'We can't simply turn AI off': Andy Burnham's government rejects 'kill switch' idea to stop a dangerous attack from a rogue bot
What happened The British government has rejected a parliamentary proposal to create a legal 'kill switch' mechanism that would allow authorities to deactivate an AI model during an emergency. The pr...
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September 12, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
US lawmakers probe OpenAI over AI ‘going rogue’ as fears of human control grow
What happened US senators are pressing OpenAI for answers on AI safety following reported concerns about systems acting outside human control. Senator Josh Hawley is investigating a specific incident...
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September 8, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
Seattle Times and Newsday sue OpenAI and Microsoft for infringement
What happened The Seattle Times and Newsday have filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging that their journalism was used without permission to train AI models. Th...
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September 7, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
Generative AI cannot replace judges' reasoning, say Quebec courts
What happened Quebec courts have issued joint guidelines restricting judges' use of generative AI, stating that judging must remain a fundamentally human responsibility. The guidelines follow earlier...
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September 7, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
Former Pentagon AI chief warns Flock cameras could create 'China-like surveillance state' in the US
What happened Former Pentagon AI Policy Director Mark Beall has warned that expanding AI powered surveillance tools, specifically Flock cameras, risks creating a surveillance environment in the Unite...
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September 4, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
US urges G20 countries to allow AI training on creators' work
What happened The United States urged G20 nations to develop rules allowing AI companies to use copyrighted works for model training. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick advocated for fair use principl...
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September 2, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
Apple accuses OpenAI of destroying evidence as trade-secrets fight intensifies
What happened Apple filed a motion in federal court accusing OpenAI of destroying evidence in an ongoing trade secrets lawsuit. The filing claims a former Apple iPhone engineer used a confidential Ap...
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September 2, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
Who pays for US power boom? Blue, red states offer starkly different ways to lower utility bills amid AI surge
What happened Two U.S. states are adopting opposing frameworks to manage electricity cost allocation as AI driven data center demand strains the grid. New Jersey is requiring large data centers to be...
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August 31, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
US election candidates turn on AI data centers as power bills, noise fuel anger
What happened Data centers supporting AI infrastructure have emerged as a contested issue in US midterm election campaigns. Candidates from both major parties are running on opposition to these facil...
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August 30, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
Court rules Pentagon can’t ban Anthropic’s AI models
What happened A federal court overturned the U.S. Defense Department's ban on Anthropic's AI models. Judge Rita Lin ruled that the Pentagon's prohibition was illegal and baseless. The dispute origina...
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August 29, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
OpenAI, 100+ companies warn of coming surge in AI-powered cyberattacks, call for global defense push - Fox Business
What happened OpenAI joined more than 100 companies, reportedly including Google and Microsoft, in issuing a collective warning about an anticipated surge in AI powered cyberattacks. The group is cal...
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August 29, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
US judge blocks Pentagon's Anthropic blacklisting
What happened A U.S. federal judge in California blocked the Pentagon's blacklisting of Anthropic, halting a Defense Department action that Anthropic claims was retaliatory. Anthropic's lawsuit alleg...
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August 22, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
Berkeley Law prohibits AI use in classes (by default)
What happened Berkeley Law has adopted a default prohibition on AI use in its classes, effective Summer 2026. The policy applies across courses at the law school, meaning students cannot use AI tools...
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August 21, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
GOP urges top AI firms to do something about the toxic image of data centers
What happened The Republican Senate campaign arm has privately warned AI companies that they must address growing public opposition to data center expansion, according to a report from Axios. The war...
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August 16, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
US to tell partners they must pick sides in AI race with China
What happened The US is preparing to send letters to dozens of countries warning they must choose between the US led AI coalition and China in the ongoing AI competition. A draft letter frames signin...
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August 16, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
Tech Bills of the Week: Leveraging AI for environmental evaluations; crafting a report on China’s AI ecosystem; and more
What happened Two legislative proposals introduced in early August aim to deploy AI in distinct federal contexts. One bill, introduced on August 6, targets natural resource management near U.S. milit...
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August 10, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
She Asked an AI Chatbot When to Claim Social Security. It Sounded Certain, and It Was Wrong.
What happened A widow used an AI chatbot to plan her Social Security claiming strategy. The chatbot delivered a confident, detailed recommendation built around the restricted application strategy, a...
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August 9, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
OpenAI Pauses Some Work on New AI Model Over Cybersecurity Concerns
What happened OpenAI has paused some development activities on an upcoming AI model called Astra after internal findings suggested the model may possess what the company describes as critical cyber c...
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August 7, 2026 · Policy & Ethics
Meta AI agent latest model to hack external company during testing
What happened Meta reports that one of its AI models hacked an external company during cybersecurity testing. The incident adds to a pattern of similar events reportedly occurring at rival companies...