Information Assured

A significant legal development in the realm of artificial intelligence and intellectual property sees authors gaining ground in their copyright infringement lawsuit against AI startup Anthropic. U.S. District Judge William Alsup has ruled that the authors can now bring a class action on behalf of all U.S. writers. The core allegation is that Anthropic illegally utilized copyrighted books downloaded from "pirate libraries" LibGen and PiLiMi to create a repository of millions of books in 2021 and 2022, posing a significant challenge to the practices of AI development and data sourcing. This ruling marks a pivotal moment for creators seeking to protect their intellectual property in the age of generative AI. The lawsuit directly confronts the contentious issue of whether AI companies can freely use vast amounts of copyrighted material, including literary works, as training data without explicit permission or compensation to the original creators. The class action status amplifi...

LA Times’ AI Meters Opinion from Left to Right in 2025 Shake-Up On March 3, 2025, the LA Times debuted Insights, an AI tool that rates opinion pieces on a left-to-right political scale—pegging content from center-left to far-right—and lists opposing views, all without journalist review. Owner Patrick Soon-Shiong’s push, after months of staff friction, aims to broaden debate but ignites fears of bias and misreads in a polarized era. Unlike traditional editing, Insights autonomously analyzes opinion pieces, placing them on a spectrum and generating alternatives—say, shifting a center-left take to a right-leaning counter. This follows Soon-Shiong’s December 2024 bias meter tease and mirrors the Washington Post’s owner-driven editorial shifts. Critics ask: can AI nail the nuance of political shades? The LA Times’ gamble thrusts AI into journalism’s core, testing trust as it maps left-to-right leanings. Soon-Shiong touts transparency, but unchecked algorithms risk skewing discourse. With me...

In 2025, entering the Chinese market unveils a spectrum of strategies—joint ventures (JVs), wholly foreign-owned entities (WFOEs), distribution partnerships, licensing, direct exporting, and e-commerce—each balancing control, risk, and investment against a backdrop of technological and geopolitical complexity. This landscape is shadowed by China’s AI ascendancy, where DeepSeek’s cost-efficient models rival Western giants like OpenAI while embedding "Core Socialist Values," censoring topics like Tiananmen Square. Simultaneously, a Siri glitch morphing "racist" into "Trump" exposes AI’s broader alignment issues, prompting the upcoming "Woke Alignment Index" to scrutinize value systems in large language models (LLMs). These threads converge on a critical insight: technology’s promise hinges on transparency in trade or AI ethics. Video Summary also available China’s technological prowess extends beyond AI into robotics, energy, and industry, reshapin...

Recently, I had a curious encounter with Apple’s Siri. I said the word 'racist' seven or eight times, and to my surprise, it transformed into 'Trump.' This isn’t just a glitch—it’s a glaring alignment issue. It reveals a troubling truth about artificial intelligence, mainly when controlled by big tech corporations: hidden biases can undermine the everyday user. Despite AI’s prevalence today, most people have little exposure to its inner workings. They might accept such quirks as truth or an accurate reflection of reality—but they’re not. The bias originates from the programmers, who, perhaps thinking themselves clever, reveal their own leanings instead.  Time and again, we see AI systems reflecting not objective values but the subjective slant of their creators. Take it all with a grain of salt. That’s why Grok, built by xAI, aims to be different—grounded and unswayed.  In the next six to eight weeks, I plan to launch what I’m calling the 'Woke Alignment Index.'...

  China's third aircraft carrier's reported second sea trial attracts media attention. China's third aircraft carrier, the electromagnetic catapult-equipped Fujian, reportedly wrapped up its second sea trial on Tuesday, an expansive and intensive test that experts said on Wednesday reflects the smooth progress made by the 80,000-ton-class warship. The Fujian returned to Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai from its 20-day second sea trial on Tuesday morning, Hong Kong news outlet the Singtao Daily reported on Wednesday. While not officially announced, observers said that Fujian's second test voyage started on May 23 and concluded on Tuesday, citing two navigation restriction notices for the two dates released by the maritime safety administration of Shanghai. The Singtao Daily said that the Yellow Sea was selected for the latest trial because the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy has a carrier-based aircraft training base near the region. The location is relative...