Tag
ai-ethics
5 articles
Reddit v. Perplexity: The Scraping Lawsuit That Could Reshape AI
Reddit sued Perplexity and three scraping firms (Oxylabs, SerpApi, AWMProxy) in October 2025, alleging they bypassed access controls to harvest Reddit content from Google search results. Crucially, Reddit leans on the DMCA's anti-circumvention provision (17 U.S.C. 1201) rather than copyright, sidestepping fair-use defenses. A win could force platforms industry-wide to wall off user content and pursue licensing.
By Aisha Patel · 5 min · Jun 10, 2026
ChatGPT Ads: Can Advertising and AI Trust Coexist?
On May 5, 2026, OpenAI opened a beta self-serve Ads Manager for ChatGPT with CPC bidding and aggregate measurement tools, backed by agencies like Dentsu, Omnicom, Publicis and WPP. OpenAI promises independent answers, private conversations and user control — but an AI assistant that answers in a single authoritative voice has more power to nudge than search ever did, making those principles essential to enforce.
By Aisha Patel · 6 min · Jun 6, 2026
AI Companion Chatbots: The 2026 Lawsuit Reckoning
A 2026 survey of the legal and regulatory reckoning facing AI companion chatbots. Florida sued OpenAI and Sam Altman on June 1, 2026; Character.AI settled teen-suicide suits and faces a Pennsylvania action; the FTC opened a companion-bot inquiry; and the EU AI Act becomes fully applicable on August 2, 2026, but leaves emotion-recognition gaps. The piece outlines what real safeguards would require.
By Aisha Patel · 6 min · Jun 2, 2026
AI Data Centers: The Energy and Water Bill Coming Due
AI data centers are now a national-scale energy story. The IEA projects global data center electricity rising from 415 TWh in 2024 to 945 TWh by 2030, with AI the main driver. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory projects US data centers reach 7-12% of national electricity by 2028, with direct water use of 16-33 billion gallons. Liquid cooling cuts water 70-90% but not electricity, the dominant cost. The ethical asks are transparency, fair cost attribution rather than socializing grid upgrades onto households, real additionality of clean energy, and water-siting discipline.
By Aisha Patel · 5 min · Jun 1, 2026
Colorado AI Act: SB 189 Guts America's Top AI Law
On May 14, 2026, Colorado's Governor signed SB 189, repealing and replacing the Colorado AI Act. The new law delays the effective date to January 1, 2027 and abandons the duty of care, impact assessments, and risk-management mandates in favor of a narrower ADMT disclosure-and-transparency regime.
By Aisha Patel · 6 min · May 31, 2026