March 6, 2024
The Electricity Central Planners Thwarted by Property Rights
The decades-long push for expansion of “renewable” electricity generation—wind and solar power in particular—always has been driven by a combination of religious fervor and the rent- and vote-seeking cynicism of businesses and politicians. Renewable electricity supposedly is “clean,” a stance that ignores the heavy-metal pollution, wildlife destruction, massive and unsightly land use, landfill issues, noise, flicker effects,…
March 6, 2024
OpenAI Strikes Back at New York Times in Copyright Spat, Deepening the Philosophical Dispute
As we discussed in January, the New York Times Company surprised many with the late December copyright infringement lawsuit it filed against OpenAI. Now the artificial intelligence (AI) giant has struck back, filing a motion to dismiss last week that casts light on fundamental differences in how we understand AI. Recall that the Gray Lady’s suit, and the response it…
March 5, 2024
AI’s Automatic Stabilizers
Automatic stabilizers are government mechanisms, like unemployment insurance and progressive taxes, that help to stabilize the economy without needing direction from Congress. In a similar way, there are a range of mechanisms that will automatically stabilize artificial intelligence (AI) adoption without Congress acting. In his must-read paper titled “Flexible, Pro-Innovation Governance Strategies for Artificial Intelligence,”…
March 1, 2024
(Un)Holy Digital Alliances
The political background and substantive implications of the recent US reversal on market-opening digital trade policies are now emerging with greater clarity. And what a tangled web has unfolded, with dissemblance, bold assertiveness, cozy political dealings, and a casual relationship with facts all combined in a fascinating stew. First, in the background, there is the…
February 29, 2024
Exxon Turns to the Courts to Fight Back Against Activist Shareholders
We’ve come a long way since the days of Harry Truman. In the modern Beltway, policymakers strive mightily to see to it that the buck stops somewhere else. Presidents blame Congress for failures to enact preferred policies. The House of Representatives blames the Senate, and vice versa, and both parties blame each other for failures to enact…
February 27, 2024
The Still-Emerging Law of Stuff
Don’t mess with people’s stuff. It’s a casual expression of common sense that also reflects foundational property law. Secure property rights give people independence. Real property law makes our homes our castles. And, as Benjamin Constant articulated, the development of property rights in movables emancipated the peon. Imagine not having personal property rights. Cops and criminals…
February 27, 2024
Headlong Rush To Ban Communist China’s Deepseek Ignores Potential Upside of the AI Breakthrough
South Korea is the latest in a string of nations to prohibit Deepseek’s groundbreakingchatbot from operating, joining Australia, the Republic of China on Taiwan, Italy, and manyothers, including America, that have barred government employees from access to theplatform.Over the course of the last month, Deepseek has become a Rorshach test of sorts for thosewho use,…
February 26, 2024
Navigating the Data Security and Privacy Tightrope: Balancing the Biden Administration and European Rules on Tech
The White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) recently updated its taxonomy of “critical and emerging technologies,” emphasizing the US government’s increased focus on data privacy and cybersecurity. This move, which revises and expands on a document last revised in 2022, comes at a crucial time: the digital landscape is rapidly evolving, influenced by groundbreaking…
February 23, 2024
Net Neutrality and the Future of State Broadband Regulation
Once Democrats finally secured a 3-2 majority in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last fall, the agency lost no time in approving a long-anticipated proposal to reintroduce net neutrality by reclassifying broadband providers as common carriers. While its commitment to reclassification seems unwavering, the agency has equivocated about the preemptive effect of agency action. This…
February 20, 2024
“Getting Rid of Icky” Isn’t Enough for the First Amendment
The algorithms know and love me, so LinkedIn pointed me the other day to a webinar cum gripe session put on by George Washington University Law Professor Daniel Solove and Cornell University Law Professor Gautam Hans about a case called NetChoice v. Bonta. They lamented a district court ruling last year enjoining enforcement of the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act,…