Future You

Future You is a new interactive artificial-intelligence platform that allows users to create a virtual older self—a chatbot that looks like an aged version of the person, then personalized with information that the user puts in. The idea is that if people can see and talk to their older selves, they will be able to think about them more concretely, and make changes now that will help them achieve the future they hope for. -Wall Street Journal  

21 Articles about AI & Legal Issues

Musicians including Kate Bush and Billy Ocean released a “silent record” in outrage at a proposed change to British copyright law - New York Times

Google's AI previews erode the internet, US edtech company says in lawsuit - Reuters

Judge Throws Out Facial Recognition Evidence In Murder Case – Forbes  

AI 'hallucinations' in court papers spell trouble for lawyers - Reuters

Minnesota Grad Student Expelled for Allegedly Using AI Is Suing School – Gizmodo

Large Law Firm Sends Panicked Email as It Realizes Its Attorneys Have Been Using AI to Prepare Court Documents – Futurism 

Copyright Office Releases Second AI Report – JD Supra

News publishers sue Cohere for copyright and trademark infringement - Axios

Thomson Reuters scores early win in AI copyright battles in the US – Associated Press

Fake cases, judges’ headaches and new limits: Australian courts grapple with lawyers using AI – The Guardian

No. 42 law firm by head count could face sanctions over fake case citations generated by AI – ABA Journal

AI Bias Through the Lens of Antidiscrimination Law – Vanderbilt Law

Bias in Large Language Models—and Who Should Be Held Accountable – Stanford Law

AI’s Racial Bias Claims Tested in Court as US Regulations Lag – Bloomberg

Copyright Office Offers Assurances on AI Filmmaking Tools – Variety

AI making up cases can get lawyers fired, scandalized law firm warns - ArsTechnica

Alexi Says Its New AI Tool for Litigators Is Capable of Advanced Legal Reasoning – LawNext 

Nonprofit group joins Elon Musk’s effort to block OpenAI’s for-profit transition – Tech Crunch

The Growth of AI Law: Exploring Legal Challenges in Artificial Intelligence - National Law Review

AI’s Legal Storm: The Three Battles That Will Shape Its Future - Forbes

Guardian signs licensing deal with ChatGPT owner OpenAI – Press Gazette

An Arms Race of Research Misconduct

Retractions are rising in medical research literature, even as more eyes examine peer-reviewed papers for accuracy. AI is powering an arms race in the world of research misconduct, making it easier for scientific fraud to occur, and for editors to identify and root out. In 2002, 1 in 5,000 papers were retracted, Oransky said. In 2023 retractions increased to 1 in 500 papers. -AAPS news magazine

Self-Reflection is Not Enough

Arthur Chickering writes that helping “students deepen their understanding about reaching for authenticity and spiritual growth ... starts and ends with self-reflection and employs that throughout.”

To say the journey is all about self-reflection is too restrictive. The learning adventure may dip into navel-gazing occasionally, but discovering the insights of other people who have gone before will not happen quickly. A fruitful journey requires a shift away from the self toward a focus on something greater. A student must sort through the dirt to discover valuable nuggets of truth. This often happens through reading the great thinkers and then wrestling with the questions and ideas we discover. We stand on the shoulders of others to peer down the road a bit further than we could on our own. We can waste time and energy by insisting on clearing a path by ourselves.

The Chickering quote comes from his book "Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education." Chickering understands the value of encouraging students to read great works. But his goal, he writes, is to help them evolve their “own" answers. However, good teaching goes beyond applauding young people just for coming to their own conclusions. Will the answers stand up to criticism? Can they effectively defend their positions? More importantly, can they live those answers?

Stephen Goforth

15 Articles about AI & Facial Recognition

Jobs on Creativity

Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it; they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people.

Steve Jobs (born Feb, 24, 1955)

AI-generated Murder Stories

A so-called “true crime” YouTube channel has millions of views with AI-generated murder stories — none of which actually happened. There was no language on the channel’s homepage or in video descriptions to tell a viewer otherwise. If you looked at the comments on his videos, there were a lot of people who couldn’t tell they weren’t real. -404 Media

21 Webinars this week about AI, Journalism, & More

Mon, Feb 24 - Ethical Choice: Responsibility of Social Media Platforms

What: The evolving role and power of social media platforms, challenges to social media legitimacy, responsible use of social media.

Who: Salla-Maaria Laaksonen, Senior Research in the Centre for Consumer Society Research at the University of Helsinki; Taru Nikulainen, Managing Director, Brunnen Communications; Kia Haring, Director, Ethics & Standards, Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management.

When: 8 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: ProCom, the Finnish Association of Communications Professionals

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Mon, Feb 24 - Using public library data for decision-making, strategic planning, and advocacy

What: How three public library workers have used data for decision-making, strategic planning, and advocacy.

Who: Sarah Rankin, New York Public Library; Brenda Marshall, Pine River Library, Colorado; Jennifer Gibson; St. Louis County Library.

When: 1 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Research Institute for Public Libraries

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Mon, Feb 24 - High Value Lies: Ethics and Undercover Investigations in the Contemporary News Environment

What: This webinar will focus on the rise of so-called “ag-gag” laws, designed to criminalize unauthorized investigations of agricultural facilities to expose inhumane or illegal practices.

Who: Alan Chen, co-author of “Truth and Transparency: Undercover Investigations in the Twenty-First Century” and “Free Speech Beyond Words: The Surprising Reach of the First Amendment.” He actively litigates cases in federal courts across the country challenging these statutes, many of which have been struck down as unconstitutional.

When: 6 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom and in-person

Cost: Free

Sponsors: Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law, the Minnesota Journalism Center, and the Minnesota Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists

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Tue, Feb 25 - Towards an Ethical Compass: Navigating Professional Communication with Integrity

What: How can communication professionals navigate ethical dilemmas with confidence? Explore the development of an Ethical Compass—a framework designed by K1 Kommunikationsforening to support ethical decision-making and enhance trust in professional communication.

Who: Sara Krüger Falk, Executive Director, Global Compact Network Denmark; Pelle Nilsson, Chairperson, K1 Kommunikationsforening; Anders Schroll – Board Member, K1 Kommunikationsforening.

When: 7 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Global Alliance

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Tue, Feb 25 - Public Health Journalism: Uncovering and reporting on solution-focused infrastructures

What: Learn about the types of infrastructure that support collaboration between public health and health care delivery systems. Collaborative tools including MOUs among organizations, data-sharing agreements, Community Health Needs Assessments, and creative financing.

Who: Dr. Rishi Manchanda, CEO of HealthBegins

When: 12 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsors: National Press Club, Common Health Coalition

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Tue, Feb 25 - AI Prompts that (actually) build your brand

What: In this session, you’ll learn the 4 C’s of crafting the perfect prompts and walk away with practical examples of how you can use AI to build your brand.

Who: Jen Blair, Founder, Systemaddicts

When: 12 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Penn State Small Business Development Center

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Tue, Feb 25 - How to Land Your First Nonfiction Video Gig After Graduation

What: How to land your first nonfiction video job, build a strong portfolio, and stand out in a competitive industry. Learn how to secure paid gigs, navigate freelance vs. staff roles, and pitch your work with confidence. Firsthand insights on breaking into the field and creating impactful documentaries that get noticed.

Who: Award-winning filmmaker Léo Hamelin, a journalist and documentary filmmaker based in New York. Most recently, she was the Head of Documentaries at Brut.

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Video Consortium

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Tue, Feb 25 - AI and PR: Responsible Measurement for Impactful Communication

What:  The panel will discuss key insights from PR Journal Vol. 18, Issue 1: latest strategies, best practices, and ethical guidelines for leveraging AI in PR measurement.

Who: Julie O’Neil, Professor & Associate Dean Graduate Studies & Administration at Texas Christian University; Angela Dwyer, Director of the IPR Measurement Commission and Head of Insights at Fullintel; Lightning Czabovsky, Associate Professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

When: 4 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Institute for Public Relations

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Tue, Feb 25 - Fighting for Our Rights: The Threats of AI & School Monitoring Software

What: What happened when a school’s new AI-powered monitoring tool could put student reporting materials — including confidential sources and stories in progress — in the hands of administrators.  

Who: Natasha Torkzaban, Morgan Salisbury and Jack Tell who successfully stood up for their press freedom rights as high school seniors.

When: 7 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Student Press Law Center

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Wed, Feb 26 - Data Tools for Climate Reporting: A Journalist’s Guide to PalmWatch & mBio

What: A demo PalmWatch and mBio, online platforms that track deforestation and genetically modified crops, and how to interpret the data.

Who: Data experts David Uminsky, Dylan Halpern, and Susan Paykin from the Data Science Institute

When: 12 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: University of Chicago

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Wed, Feb 26 - Upskilling for the Future: Navigating the Age of AI

What: The fast-evolving skilling landscape driven by AI; The skills that are emerging and those expected to arise; Creating an organization-wide skill-adoption model; Leveraging technology to drive AI-literacy at scale.

Who: Justin Seeley, Learning Evangelist, Adobe; Dominik Rus, Global Head of Learning and Development Innovation and Technology, TTEC.

When: 12 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Adobe Learning Manager, Training Magazine Network

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Wed, Feb 26 - Introduction to AI for your Small Business

What: Anon-technical introduction to generative AI technology, tips for implementing AI effectively in your business, some great advice about managing the risks and ethical concerns involved, and will lead you a hands-on exercise using a generative AI tool.

Who: Isabel Krome, a Start-Up Consultant at Temple SBDC.

When: 12 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Penn State Small Business Development Center

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Wed, Feb 26 - Ethical AI In Design: Craft Inclusive Learning Beyond Biases

What: Practical insights into identifying and mitigating these biases to ensure content is inclusive and represents a spectrum of perspectives.

Who: Tristin Sylvester is the Founder & Chief Learning Architect at Inventio Learning Designs

When: 3 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Training Magazine Network

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Wed, Feb 26 - Trauma-Aware Leadership

What: The session introduces modern, evidence-based approaches to news management that enhance both team resilience and journalistic excellence. We will be discussing how trauma-awareness, a modern, science-informed approach to news management can help sustain morale and productivity in a newsroom.  

Who: Bruce Shapiro is Executive Director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma; Gavin Rees is the Dart Center's Senior Advisor for Training and Innovation.

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at the Columbia Journalism School and the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine

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Wed, Feb 26 - Strengthen your coverage through honest newsroom conversation and dissent

What: Practical exercises and strategies to welcome dissent in your newsroom. Come ready to discuss challenges and ask questions. 

Who: Trusting News Executive Editor Joy Mayer

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Trusting News

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Wed, Feb 26 - The Story of Nellie Bly

What: Nellie made headlines by completing a record-breaking 72-day trip around the world in 1890. Discover how she also achieved much as a war correspondent and benevolent businesswoman.

Who: Actress Debra Ann Miller will portray this pioneer in investigative journalism.

When: 7 pm, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free; This is a hybrid event. Choose to attend in-person or virtually.

Sponsor: League of Women Voters and the Wheaton Public Library, Wheaton, IL

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Thu, Feb 27 & Fri, Feb 28 - Freelance Journalism Conference

What: Sessions on pitching, harnessing artificial intelligence, funding your journalism, podcasting, boosting your income, and more.

Who: Celeste Headlee (NPR, PBS, WNYC) is keynotes and the sessions include editors from Bloomberg, the New York Times, Washington Post, Economic Hardship Reporting Project and more.

When: 10 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: $79 for 12 live sessions & access to recordings

Sponsor: Institute for Independent Journalists

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Thu, Feb 27 - Trauma-Informed Journalism Training

What: This training session equips participants with essential tools and skills for handling sensitive stories with care and respect. The training will delve into immersive storytelling, syilx protocols for supporting the grieving, and the sacredness of sharing someone's story.

Who: Your syilx Sisters

When: 10 am - 3 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: The Indigenous Journalists Association

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Thu, Feb 27 - AI’s Impact on Search Marketing: Adapting to a Changing Landscape   

What: Explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping search marketing by altering consumer behavior, reducing website visits through direct AI answers, and transforming search strategies. Learn actionable insights and access free resources to help your organization adapt to these groundbreaking shifts in search and marketing dynamics.

Who: Korena Keys, Founder of Key Media Solutions

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: $35

Sponsor: Online Media Campus

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Thu, Feb 27 - From Prompts to AI Agents: The Ultimate Learning & Development Playbook

What: This high-energy session takes you on a fast-track journey from crafting high-impact prompts to deploying AI agents that automate, personalize, and elevate your training programs.

Who: Josh Cavalier Founder, JoshCavalier.ai.

When: 3 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Training Magazine Network

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Fri, Feb 28 - Humans vs. AI: Who Should Design and Deliver Presentations?

What: Recent neuroscience research on how human and AI-designed presentations uniquely impact audience engagement, attention, and memory.

Who: Carmen Simon, Cognitive Neuroscientist, Founder of Enhancive.

When: 11 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Training Magazine Network

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20 Articles about How AI is Affecting Jobs

News Copycats

"ChatGPT will often link to news publishers aggregating original reporting, elevating these copycat articles over the initial story, or failing to surface the initial story at all. Frequently these copycats are far less reputable, including blogs and websites that have outright plagiarized established news outlets. This copycat citation problem even plagues news publishers that have active licensing deals with OpenAI." - Harvard’s Nieman Lab

AI Definitions: Apache Spark

Apache Spark - This data processing tool can be used on very large data sets. Its “cluster computing” uses resources from many computer processors linked together for rapid data processing and real-time analytics. Thus, it supports predictive analytics, a data science tool. For instance, it can analyze video or social media data automatically. It's a scalable solution so that users can easily introduce more processors into the system to make it more powerful.  

More AI definitions here.

Stress can do a body good

Kelly McGonigal, a psychologist at Stanford University and the author of “The Upside of Stress”, helps people rethink stress by telling them that it is what we feel when something we care about is at stake. She asks them to make two lists: of things that stress them; and of things that matter to them. “People realise that if they eliminated all stress their lives would not have much meaning,” she says. “We need to give up the fantasy that you can have everything you want without stress.”

In 2012 a group of scientists in America looked back at the 1998 National Health Interview Survey, which included questions about how much stress the 30,000 participants had experienced in the previous year, and whether they believed stress harmed their health. Next, they pored over mortality records to find out which respondents had died. They found that those who both reported high stress and believed it was harming their health had a 43% higher risk of premature death. Those who reported high stress but did not believe it was hurting them were less likely to die early than those who reported little stress.

The study shows correlation, not causation. But since much stress is unavoidable, working out how to harness it may be wiser than fruitless attempts to banish it.

Read more in the Economist

22 Recent Articles about Using AI

An AI Prompting Trick That Will Change Everything for You – Information Week

How to use Perplexity AI: Tutorial, pros and cons – Tech Target

What are the best AI tools for research? Nature’s guide - Nature

How DeepSeek’s Lower-Power, Less-Data Model Stacks Up – Wall Street Journal  

Adobe’s Sora-rivaling AI video generator is now available for everyone – The Verge

ChatGPT Search is now open to everyone — no account required – Tom’s Guide

ChatGPT's Deep Research is a promising intern - Axios 

I let ChatGPT’s new ‘agent’ manage my life – Washington Post

AI bots enter the group chat – Axio 

ChatGPT vs. Claude vs. DeepSeek: The Battle to Be My AI Work Assistant – Wall Street Journal 

How Helpful Is Operator, OpenAI’s New A.I. Agent? – New York Times

How DeepSeek and ChatGPT differed in our hands-on test - Axios

AI Mistakes Are Very Different From Human Mistakes – Spectrum  

How to use AI to keep your New Year's resolutions – Axios  

What Is Agentic AI, and How Will It Change Work? – Harvard Business Review

Google Unveils A.I. Agent That Can Use Websites on Its Own – New York Times

OpenAI’s video generator, Sora, aims to kickstart the AI video era – Washington Post

Why Are Women Less Likely to Use AI? – Bloomberg

The Many Ways WSJ Readers Use AI in Their Everyday Lives – Wall Street Journal

How To Create And Customize An AI Podcast With Google’s NotebookLM – Forbes

Using AI in PR: Experts explain how AI is enhancing PR workflows – Muck Rack

How to Get a New Headshot Using AI – CNET

20 Articles about Relationships with AI

The AI relationship revolution is already here – MIT Tech Review 

What Spike Jonze’s ‘Her’ got right about AIs & modern love – The New York Times

AI chatbots can help you flirt and date – but don’t forget to be human - The Washington Post \

ChatGPT: Will you be my Valentine? More users are falling for AI companions – Semafor 

The Rise of AI Boyfriends in China – Observer Voice

My Girlfriend Won’t Stop Using ChatGPT for Relationship Advice – VICE  

She Is in Love With ChatGPT - The New York Times

An Autistic Teenager Fell Hard for a Chatbot – The Atlantic  

An AI companion suggested he kill his parents. Now his mom is suing. - The Washington Post  

Friend or Foe? – The Verge  

AI Jesus' avatar tests man's faith in machines and the divine – Associated Press  

What Does It Mean to ‘Love’ an AI? – Sixth Tone

Madeline recreated the voice of her deceased husband with AI - The New York Times 

Robotic pets are bringing some older people real comfort - The Washington Post

The Therapist in the Machine – The Baffler

Can a fluffy robot really replace a cat or dog? My weird, emotional week with an AI pet – The Guardian

Scientists Find That Yelling at AI Chatbots Can Make You Feel Better – Futurism  

Teenagers turning to AI companions are redefining love as easy, unconditional and always there – The Conversation

AI friendships claim to cure loneliness. Some are ending in suicide. - The Washington Post

2025 Dating Trend Predictions from Relationship Experts - The New York Times