_{Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis}

^CategoryLaw

media literacy education, a teacher explains misinformation detection to attentive students in a bright classroom

^{Type
post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 26, 2026

Categorized
Education, Law, Politics, Psychology

Tagged
critical thinking, European Union, Featured, Norman Lewis, Prebunking}

Prebunking: “Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain”

_{We know we are living in a changing world, when Europe is striving to be China} _{Denyse O'Leary
August 26, 2026

5

Education, Law, Politics, Psychology}

At the Brussels Signal, tech analyst Norman Lewis has been discussing a form of indoctrination that is becoming increasingly popular in the European Union, and doubtless elsewhere: prebunking — “a preventative measure that aims to prepare audiences to recognize and resist information risks.” (UNHCR) Prebunking is beloved of bureaucrats and you will hear a great deal about what a good thing it is from many sources — sources that should, under the circumstances, give pause for thought: ● “What Is Prebunking? It’s better to inoculate against disinformation than to debunk later.” (Psychology Today, 2021) ● “False information is everywhere. ‘Pre-bunking’ tries to head it off early” (NPR, 2022) ● “What is Pre-Bunking: The Power of Framing Before the Facts” (Simply Read More ›

Creative double exposure portrait of attractive woman with beautiful landscape. International Mother Earth Day. Environmental problems and protection. Caring for nature

^{Type
post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
August 20, 2026

Categorized
Environment, Law

Tagged
Jan van de Venis, Nature rights Artistic Expression pathway, Nature rights Legal Integration pathway, Nature rights Representation pathway, Nature rights Systemic Work pathway, The Water Diplomat}

The Language May Be Mild — But the Nature Rights Are Radical

_{The nature rights movement's seeming mildness sedates some people into wrongly thinking that their cause is not an acute threat to human liberty and flourishing} _{Wesley J. Smith
August 20, 2026

6

Environment, Law}

A just published puff-piece interview by The Water Diplomat with Dutch human and nature rights lawyer Jan van de Venis illustrates the niceness and the threat.

Tense courtroom moment showing a young man in a red robe being questioned, with a lawyer in the background gesturing assertively. The dramatic atmosphere suggests cross-examination

^{Type
post

Richard W. Stevens
Date
August 19, 2026

Categorized
Law, Psychology

Tagged
Eyewitness testimony (reliability), Featured, John T. Wixted, Memory and eyewitness testimony, National Academy of Sciences}

Eyewitness Memory: Fallible Doesn’t Mean Worthless

_{It’s not about poor memories – it’s about asking neutral questions early and getting details known only to witnesses on site} _{Richard W. Stevens
August 19, 2026

7

Law, Psychology}

The trend against eyewitness reliability seems part of the ideology that undermines finding objective truth.

abstract holographic world globe with many connection points symbolizing social media and life for business wallpaper background. Generative AI

^{Type
post

Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 19, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Law, Science

Tagged
AI and job loss, AI hype, Chris Stokel-Walker, Colleen McClain, Dario Amodei, Dawn Song, Eugenie Park, Featured, Gary Marcus, Matthew Lynn, Owen Dahlkamp, Sebastian Pios, Will Knight}

AI: A Boon or a Bane? Misunderstood, or Misused?

_{Pew Research finds that young people are losing faith in a glorious AI future. They have a point but...} _{Denyse O'Leary
August 19, 2026

6

Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Law, Science}

When the young people inherit the world, they can start getting tough with misuse and abuse but first they should take the time to learn how it works.

With the global spread of the new coronavirus pneumonia, an automated line of disposable medical masks makes the masks ready for an epidemic 24 hours a day, COVID-19 outbreak

^{Type
post

News
Date
July 29, 2026

Categorized
Law, Medicine and Health, Politics

Tagged
Anthony Fauci, COVID response, Featured, Jennifer Sey, Rand Paul, Robert S. Kennedy}

If It Is About the Covid Crazy, Don’t Tell Your Diary Anything!

_{Especially not if you are Anthony Fauci...} _{News
July 29, 2026

5

Law, Medicine and Health, Politics}

Fauci’s most revealing 1,141 pages are not a personal diary; despite all the personal material, he was writing at work on a government computer.

Black History

^{Type
post

Charles Thaxton and Stephen C. Meyer
Date
July 5, 2026

Categorized
Ethics, Law, Politics

Tagged
Charles Thaxton, Human rights, Stephen C. Meyer}

Are Our Rights Blessed by God, or Begrudged by Government?

_{In every situation, protections accorded human rights have reflected what cultures and governments think about the value and dignity of man} _{Charles Thaxton and Stephen C. Meyer
July 5, 2026

3

Ethics, Law, Politics}

In the Western tradition human rights have been said to exist independently of the state because they have been based upon human dignity.

Concept image to explain how AI hallucinations occur when an AI model generates false or illogical information that isn't based on real data or events, but is presented as fact.

^{Type
post

Gary Smith
Date
July 1, 2026

Categorized
Business and Finance, Large Language Models (LLMs), Law

Tagged
Anthropic settlement, Carriers vs. publishers, Hallucination in Large Language Models (LLMs), Munich Google AI Overview decision (2026)}

Plagiarism and Defamation—Two More Bad Things LLMs Are Good At

_{The authors’ and publishers’ copyright claims against the chatbot developers are only one of the legal problems the industry faces} _{Gary Smith
July 1, 2026

5

Business and Finance, Large Language Models (LLMs), Law}

The LLMs’ hallucinations could end up getting them severely restricted in Europe, depending on the outcome of a recent legal challenge for defamation.

Road among the trees. Corresponds to the seasons of the year: autumn, winter, spring. Day, tree branches close the road, forming a tunnel. Water, ice, and frost form a dangerous slippery slope.

^{Type
post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
June 30, 2026

Categorized
Law

Tagged
Activists, Canada, Rights for trees, Subversive ideology}

Canadian Town Grants Rights to Trees

_{As usual in these cases, the argument supporting such nonsense is irrational} _{Wesley J. Smith
June 30, 2026

4

Law}

Of course trees are alive but they have very little else in common with human beings beyond consisting of carbon molecules.

Police officer chases a suspect down a narrow, dark city alleyway.

^{Type
post

Richard W. Stevens
Date
June 30, 2026

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Law, Privacy

Tagged
Daniel Solove, Mercy (film 2026), Officer-involved shooting (OIS), On Privacy and Technology (book 2025), Privacy rights}

Privacy Rights: Innermost Thoughts Can Smash Your Life

_{As I have discovered, justice can depend upon how adverse people view your private thoughts} _{Richard W. Stevens
June 30, 2026

8

Artificial Intelligence, Law, Privacy}

After a police shooting, one answer may let the officer off; a different one may result in homicide charges. But both answers might be “truthful.”

Close up of a man using mobile smart phone

^{Type
post

Richard W. Stevens
Date
May 13, 2026

Categorized
Law

Tagged
AI, ID, Law, Licence, phones, Police state, Privacy}

“Please Say Your Phone License Number and Look Into the Camera”

_{Serious FCC proposal would require licenses to buy phones; AI talk-control is next.} _{Richard W. Stevens
May 13, 2026

5

Law}

The new law would require telephone service providers to “at a minimum, obtain and retain the name, physical address, government issued identification number, and an alternate telephone number of any new and renewing customer before granting access to its services.”

Tree brain with human head cape, idea concept of think hope freedom and mind , surreal artwork, dream art , fantasy landscape, imagination of nature

^{Type
post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
March 23, 2026

Categorized
Law

Tagged
Climate change, Law, Nature Rights, Republican bill, Veto}

Wisconsin Governor Vetoes Anti–’Nature Rights’ Legislation

_{The nature-rights movement is ultimately about thwarting human enterprise.} _{Wesley J. Smith
March 23, 2026

3

Law}

Most such laws grant anyone who believes nature’s rights to have been violated standing in court to bring suit, opening the door to extreme lawfare and making it almost impossible to obtain liability insurance.

Law and Justice in United States of America

^{Type
post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
January 31, 2026

Categorized
Biology, Law

Tagged
Biology, Courts, gender, Minor}

‘Detransitioner’ Wins $2 Million Medical-Malpractice Lawsuit

_{Case raises new scrutiny over medical oversight in irreversible procedures for minors.} _{Wesley J. Smith
January 31, 2026

2

Biology, Law}

The case did not challenge the general propriety of such “care” of minors with gender dysphoria, but alleged it was not appropriate in Fox’s particular case.

Two brown and white cows

^{Type
post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
January 28, 2026

Categorized
Law

Tagged
Agriculture, IP28}

Proposed Oregon Initiative Would Outlaw Animal Agriculture and Hunting

_{Behind the cruelty‑free branding lies a campaign to dismantle farming and hunting} _{Wesley J. Smith
January 28, 2026

5

Law}

We believe everyone should be equally protected under the law, and that all animals deserve equal consideration, regardless of whether or not we consider them our companions. All animals deserve a life free from cruelty.

^{Type
post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
December 27, 2025

Categorized
Ethics, Law, Medicine and Health

Tagged
Brain organoids, Fetal farming, Organ transplants}

How Far Will Experimenting on the Unborn Go?

_{We have been told by some bioethicists that a born baby is no different morally than a fetus, so why stop there?} _{Wesley J. Smith
December 27, 2025

3

Ethics, Law, Medicine and Health}

Some will ask, if we can artificially gestate fetuses to that stage, why not harvest them for organs? That has already been proposed. Repeatedly.

Euthanasia or mercy killing. Malpractice medicine. Syringe with needle and ampules set for assisted death. Bloody red closeup macro. Ethic or criminal debates poster of doctor assisted suicide

^{Type
post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
December 19, 2025

Categorized
Ethics, Law, Medicine and Health

Tagged
Kathy Hochul, New York State assisted suicide law}

NY Governor Hochul to Sign Assisted-Suicide Legalization Bill

_{Liberalization started even before the bill was signed} _{Wesley J. Smith
December 19, 2025

4

Ethics, Law, Medicine and Health}

People with disabilities know that. once assisted suicide becomes normalized, the categories of killable people will expand well beyond the terminally ill.

Evil AI agent robot hacking

^{Type
post

Richard W. Stevens
Date
November 27, 2025

Categorized
Large Language Models (LLMs), Law

Tagged
Featured, Google chatbot, Libel, Robby Starbuck, Slander, Starbuck lawsuit vs Google}

Does It Matter WHY a Chatbot Slanders You?

_{Google’s AI chatbot service blames users’ questions and unfixable software for the bot’s shocking defamation of a man’s character} _{Richard W. Stevens
November 27, 2025

5

Large Language Models (LLMs), Law}

Chatbots aren’t necessities. Meanwhile, long-esteemed laws and rules of conduct forbade slander and libel because they can seriously harm people.

Blue Jays using threat gestures to block others from food at feeder

^{Type
post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
November 27, 2025

Categorized
Environment, Law, Politics

Tagged
Animal rights activism, Just preservation concept, Michael Burrows, Wild animal rights}

And — No Surprise, Really — Now It’s WILD Animals’ Rights

_{Like many progressive activists, Michael Burrows is far less concerned with our welfare than that of animals. He even opposes conservation efforts because these involve human control} _{Wesley J. Smith
November 27, 2025

5

Environment, Law, Politics}

Burrows proposes an approach he calls “just preservation,” which would treat wild animals as the moral and legal equals of humans.

Young homeless drug addict or alcoholic

^{Type
post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
November 13, 2025

Categorized
Addiction, Law, Medicine and Health

Tagged
Debra J. Saunders, Harm reduction policies, Joshua Barocas, Wesley J. Smith}

The Dismaying Harms of “Harm Reduction”

_{Do we love our addicted countrymen enough to insist that they diligently engage in programs to restore themselves to lives of dignity and self-respect? Harm reduction isn’t that} _{Wesley J. Smith
November 13, 2025

5

Addiction, Law, Medicine and Health}

Facilitating drug abuse — which is what “harm reduction” does — causes terrible harm, often to the people it purports to help.

Courtroom symbolizes law and authority through a judgment gavel

^{Type
post

Richard W. Stevens
Date
November 10, 2025

Categorized
Large Language Models (LLMs), Law

Tagged
AI and defamation, Chatbots and defamation, Featured, Frederick Riehl, Hallucination in Large Language Models (LLMs), Libel law, Mark Walters, OpenAI and defamation, SAF v. Ferguson, Walters v. OpenAI}

Case Study: How Not to Sue AI for Libel

_{Richard W. Stevens
November 10, 2025

6

Large Language Models (LLMs), Law}

I personally favor modernizing the civil laws against libel and defamation to take into account the type of injuries that chatbots can inflict.

Ethereal Gaia Goddess Portrait Amidst Lush Foliage

^{Type
post

Wesley J. Smith
Date
October 27, 2025

Categorized
Environment, Law

Tagged
House of Lords (Britain), Nature as legal person, Nature rights concept}

Totalitarian ‘Nature Rights’ Legislation in U.K. House of Lords

_{This is the most draconian and potentially tyrannical “nature rights” proposal I have yet seen} _{Wesley J. Smith
October 27, 2025

5

Environment, Law}

This bill vividly illustrates the authoritarian impulses of the “nature rights” movement specifically and its embrace of toxic anti-humanism generally.