Category «Communications»

What should journalists do when the facts don’t matter?

Most people agree that actual facts matter – in such activities as debate, discussion and reporting. Once facts are gathered, verified and distributed, informed decision-making can proceed in such important exercises as voting. But what happens when important, verified facts are published and broadcast widely, yet the resulting impact proves underwhelming – or even meaningless? If vital facts fail to affect the news audiences they intend to inform? Media scholar Prof. Michael J. Socolow addressed the conundrum facing American journalism after Nov. 5, 2024.

Subjects: Communications, KM, Legal Research

Artificial Intelligence and the Law

David Colarusso founded and co-directs the Suffolk University Law School’s Legal Innovation & Technology (LIT) Lab. By training he is an attorney and science educator. By experience, he’s a data scientist, craftsman, and writer. LLRX is pleased to share what Colarusso states is not a traditional syllabus, because this class he is teaching is not a traditional class. He won’t just ask you to “think like a lawyer,” he will require that you act like one. In-class time will be devoted mostly to running simulations of varying fidelity for ten potentially precedent making cases and arguing the merits of proposed AI legislation. In addition to serving as an attorney—taking a case from trial through appeal—you will have the chance to act as a judge, jury, legislator, and legislative advisor. He says…”we’re in for some serious play.”

Subjects: AI, Communications, Courts & Technology, Education, Legal Research, Legislative, United States Law

Independent voters are few in number, influential in close elections – and hard for campaigns to reach

As the 2024 campaign cycle unfolds, campaign strategists, pollsters and political scientists have been closely watching independent voters. Professor of Political Science Julio Borquez addresses why it appears that independents are important – including to political science scholars like himself.

Subjects: Communications, Economy, Education, Leadership

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, May 18, 2024

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Librarians Are Waging a Quiet War Against International “Data Cartels”; Why car location tracking needs an overhaul; How to find out if an AirTag is tracking you; and New mailing list aims to share hacking attempts on open-source projects.

Subjects: Communications, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, KM, Law Librarians, Privacy, Travel

Advocate, advise, and accompany

Jordan Furlong advocates the position that three essential roles – to advocate, to advise, and to accompany – will be of critical importance in the post-AI era and lawyers need to start preparing legal education, lawyer licensing, and law practices to adapt and modify their client engagement.

Subjects: AI, Communications, KM, Legal Education, Legal Marketing, Legal Profession, Legal Technology

Plagiarism Detection Tools Offer a False Sense of Accuracy

Investigative Reporter Tara García Mathewson discusses how the the tools that likely brought down Harvard president Claudine Gay are improperly used on students all the time.

Subjects: AI, Communications, Education, Legal Research

Jan. 6 was an example of networked incitement

The shocking events of Jan. 6, 2021, signaled a major break from the nonviolent rallies that categorized most major protests over the past few decades. What set Jan. 6 apart was the president of the United States using his cellphone to direct an attack on the Capitol, and those who stormed the Capitol being wired and ready for insurrection. Joan Donovan and her co-authors, a media and disinformation scholar, call this networked incitement: influential figures inciting large-scale political violence via social media. Networked incitement involves insurgents communicating across multiple platforms to command and coordinate mobilized social movements in the moment of action.

Subjects: Communications, Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Government Contracts, Leadership, Legal Research, Social Media, Terrorism, United States Law

AI and the Organized Bar: Lessons from the eLawyering Project

The Internet changed the way lawyers communicate, but it otherwise made only modest changes in the nature of legal work. Generative AI will be a tsunami. Can or should the American Bar Association and other bar associations attempt to influence the development and regulation of AI, to steer it in particular directions? Since the past can be prologue, it’s worth considering a previous attempt by the organized bar to grapple with another revolutionary technology. Jerry Lawson benchmarks this discussion using his participation in the American Bar Association’s eLawyering project that attempted to help lawyers use the Internet to achieve social benefits. The project tried to influence various governmental entities as well as the actions of lawyers. How well did these efforts work? How can the organized bar better steer the use of AI to benefit society?

Subjects: AI, Communications, Continuing Legal Education, KM, Legal Marketing, Legal Profession

Where Did the Open Access Movement Go Wrong?: An Interview with Richard Poynder

Noted journalist and scholarly communication observer Richard Poynder explains why he has given up on the open access movement. This email interview was conducted by Rick Anderson.

Subjects: AI, Communications, Copyright, Education, KM, Legal Research, Technology Trends