How ‘learnrights’ would compensate creators for AI model training; MIT Sloan, May 12, 2026

Brian Eastwood, MIT Sloan; How ‘learnrights’ would compensate creators for AI model training

"Human content creators are protected by copyright law, in part to ensure that they’re fairly compensated for their work. 

But whether these laws allow artificial intelligence models to learn from human-created content is up for debate — both in court and on Capitol Hill. Encyclopedia Britannica’s lawsuit against OpenAI, for example, is one of the latest allegations of misuse of reference materials. Meanwhile, the U.S. Copyright Office has not made a binding determination about whether using copyrighted works to train AI models is fair use.  

To deal with these issues, in 2023 MIT Sloan School of Management professor Thomas Malone proposed “learnright” laws that would give copyright holders the exclusive right to license their content to AI companies for model training. 

“Copyright law wasn’t designed for a world with generative AI, and without something like learnright laws, the incentives for people to create new content are likely to be greatly reduced,” said Malone, who is also the director of the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence. 

In a more recent article, Malone and co-authors Frank Pasquale of Cornell Law School and Andrew Ting of George Washington University Law School outlined the argument for learnrights and described how they could work legally, economically, and practically...

Malone and his co-authors presented three arguments that support compensating copyright holders whose work is used to train generative AI. 

If AI models produce high-quality content quickly and cheaply without compensating the original creators of this content, that will decrease creators’ motivation to produce new content and thus reduce the volume of original work available to further improve AI models. “It would be unwise to risk such a decline in incentives for human expression,” the researchers write.

The researchers find it “troubling” that for-profit AI companies cry foul when others use their intellectual property — as was the case when U.S.-based AI firms accused China’s DeepSeek of stealing from them — given that the same companies use copyrighted content without compensating its creators. 

Properly acknowledging how other works influenced one’s own is the right thing to do and the foundation of a thoughtful creative process, the researchers write. Conversely, uncredited and uncompensated use of others’ work falls short of ethical standards and undermines what IP protection is supposed to mean."

AI won’t replace lawyers. It will create more of them.; The Washington Post, May 17, 2026

Damien Charlotin , The Washington Post; AI won’t replace lawyers. It will create more of them.

"The replacement story often rests on a particular picture of what a lawyer does: reading documents, applying rules and producing text. Since AI can read, apply rules and produce text, the argument goes, lawyers are cooked. That picture is not entirely wrong, but it is the perception engineers have always had of the legal domain: Feed in the facts, apply the rule, return the output. Yet the reason lawyers exist (and command high prices for their services) is that law is shot through with ambiguity. If the rules ran themselves, no one would need us. Every step in the chain — reading, applying, producing — involves choices, some of which are genuinely difficult.

A better way to think about jobs is as bundles of tasks. Some bundles are loose: A job composed of a handful of discrete, repetitive, well-specified tasks can be peeled apart and the tasks automated one by one. Other bundles are tight, because the tasks reinforce one another and cannot be cleanly separated. The key example here is offered by radiologists, long predicted to be facing extinction due to AI. Despite the dire forecasts, their numbers keep growing, and they keep commanding ever-higher salaries.

Legal work is also hard to neatly separate. For instance, doing legal research and evaluating an argument are, for an experienced lawyer, often the same mental activity: A lawyer checks the argument by writing it. Pull those tasks apart, hand the writing to a machine, and verification suddenly becomes a separate, deliberate, expensive act — at least if you want to avoid landing in my database of courts sanctioning parties for filing “hallucinated” material. In fact, an irony is that automating the easy parts of a job often makes the hard parts harder, not easier."

Lawmakers push for AI data center moratoriums as more states consider projects; Deseret News, May 15, 2026

Cami Mondeaux , Deseret News; Lawmakers push for AI data center moratoriums as more states consider projects

"A pair of progressive lawmakers in Congress are teaming up to push for a moratorium on the construction of AI data centers until nationwide safeguards are put in place — dividing members of their party as more states consider projects of their own. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., introduced the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Data Center Moratorium Act in March, seeking a federal suspension of data center construction until national protections are put in place. Those protections, they say, should include assurances that the economic gains of centers will benefit workers rather than just Big Tech owners, the centers will not increase electricity or utility prices, or that construction will not harm surrounding communities or the environment.

AI and robotics are creating the most sweeping technological revolution in the history of humanity. The scale, scope and speed of that change is unprecedented,” Sanders said in a statement at the time. “Bottom line: We cannot sit back and allow a handful of billionaire Big Tech oligarchs to make decisions that will reshape our economy, our democracy and the future of humanity. We need serious public debate and democratic oversight over this enormously consequential issue.”...

Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia called the proposal “idiocy” when asked about a federal moratorium during an Axios summit in March. Warner warned that putting a pause on data center projects in the United States would only give adversarial nations such as China an advantage...

The debate comes as more states consider their own projects, including Utah, which just approved the construction of an AI data center in Box Elder County. That project has elicited widespread protests and pushback from opponents who worry the facility would threaten water resources in the area, particularly with the shrinking Great Salt Lake."

Law Schools Implement AI to Focus on Ethics and Technology; Los Angeles Times, May 17, 2026

 David Nusbaum, Los Angeles Times; Law Schools Implement AI to Focus on Ethics and Technology

"Over the last two years, Loyola Law School in Downtown Los Angeles has incorporated AI into six courses. It’s a sign of a growing trend where law firms are looking for attorneys who can utilize the technology to improve efficiency. While law schools have constantly looked to update coursework to keep curriculum updated as laws are updated, the application of generative AI to the practice of law is the biggest change that has happened in generations, according to Rebecca Delfino, associate professor of law at Loyola Law School...

Delfino is one of several professors who have integrated AI into their coursework. She is involved with two courses specifically focused on the ethical implications of generative AI and the legal practice.

In a first-year civil procedure course, students are divided in half, with one group an analog approach that relies on textbooks and class notes while the other half uses generative AI technology. The results are compared to see where the technology is effective and ineffective. The goal is to use AI as something that is additive rather than giving over too much authority and power, according to Delfino. For many exercises, there are six or seven AI models that are tested and compared.

Students understand that they need the AI skill set to make themselves a more attractive candidate, no matter what area of law they practice. It can be used to draft documents, conduct legal research and assist with discovery. Chatbots are tested for hallucinations, and the drawbacks are identified."

What A.I. Did to My College Class; The New York Times, May 17, 2026

  Theo Baker, The New York Times; What A.I. Did to My College Class

"Stanford has always been a haven for aspiring techies, but recent events have taken the school into uncharted territory. A.I. is everything. We talk about it at the dining halls and in history classes, on dates and while smoking with friends, at the gym and in communal dorm bathrooms. Nearly all of higher education has been overtaken by this technology, and Stanford is a case study in how far it can go. For the past four years, my classmates and I have been the subjects of a high-stakes experiment.

We are the first college class of the A.I. era — ChatGPT arrived on campus about two months after we did. When we graduate next month, this technology will have altered our lives in very different ways. For some, it has opened the door to staggering wealth. But for many who came to Stanford — just four years ago! — when a degree seemed like a guaranteed ticket to a high-paying job, the door has been slammed shut. For all of us, A.I. has permanently changed how we think and behave."

Building intellectual property awareness across disciplines at Illinois State University; Illinois State University News, May 11, 2026

Sara Prieto , Illinois State University News; Building intellectual property awareness across disciplines at Illinois State University

[Kip Currier: It's impressive to see how diverse fields at Illinois State University -- Family and Consumer Sciences, Information Technology, Management, etc. -- are imbuing students with practical knowledge about creating, protecting, and using IP.]

"Understanding how to protect original work is becoming an essential part of the student experience. At Illinois State University, a second faculty cohort expanded the integration of intellectual property (IP) into course work during the 2025-26 academic year...

Across disciplines, students learned to treat their work as something that can be developed, protected, and applied beyond the classroom. The program positions intellectual property as a practical skill, especially as tools like AI make it easier to create and share content while raising new questions about ownership."

Should AI designs be eligible for Iowa State Fair's T-shirt contest?; Des Moines Register, May 17, 2026

Lucia Cheng , Des Moines Register; Should AI designs be eligible for Iowa State Fair's T-shirt contest?

"Should people be able to use generative AI to win a design contest?

That's the debate playing out on social media after the Iowa State Fair's Blue Ribbon Foundation unveiled the finalists for its annual T-shirt design contest."

On the “Superior Ethical Criterion” for Assessing AI’s Benefits and Risks; Santa Clara Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, May 16, 2026

Irina Raicu , Santa Clara Markkula Center for Applied Ethics; On the “Superior Ethical Criterion” for Assessing AI’s Benefits and Risks

"Then, in December, Pope Leo addressed participants in a conference titled “Artificial Intelligence and Care for Our Common Home.” The Vatican News covered that address:

The ability to access vast amounts of data and information should not be confused with the ability to derive meaning and value from it,’ the Pope explained, adding that ‘The latter requires a willingness to confront the mystery and core questions of our existence, even when these realities are often marginalized or ridiculed by the prevailing cultural and economic models.’

The call to confront “the mystery and core questions of our existence” reminds us of all the knowledge we still don't have, at least not in a quantifiable, data-based format. It is also a reminder of the limitations of the role of technology, even very powerful technology, in the search for meaning and in the "integral development of human beings and society." Discussing those limitations, pushing back against some of the claims by even the best-intentioned technologists, is an important part of placing AI at the service of human beings, rather than the other way around."

Lilian Doan Davis, Polsinelli PC,  The National Law Review; Who Owns AI-Generated Content? Human Authorship Still Controls, and Documenting the Creation Process Is Critical

"Practical Steps Companies Should Consider Now

Businesses using generative AI should consider a few immediate steps:

• Document human creative input. Preserve drafts, edits, source files and records showing who selected, arranged, revised or transformed AI outputs.
• Do not assume prompting establishes ownership. Prompt logs may help show process, but they are not a substitute for evidence of human-authored expression.
• Be precise in registration strategy. Applicants should disclose AI-generated material where required, identify the human author’s contribution and claim only the human-authored portions.
• Revisit contracts and internal policies. Vendor agreements, employee policies and content-development protocols should not assume that all AI-assisted output is fully protectable or exclusively owned in the same way as traditionally authored material.

Bottom Line

The law remains grounded in conventional copyright principles. The Copyright Office’s recent guidance and the D.C. Circuit’s decision in Thaler point in the same direction: copyright protection still turns on human authorship, even when AI is part of the process.

For businesses, the practical implication is not simply that some AI-generated works may be unprotectable. It is that ownership, registration and enforcement may depend on whether the company can later show what a human author actually contributed. In that sense, AI governance is also evidence governance."

What Are Your Company’s AI Nightmares?; Harvard Business Review, May 11, 2026

Reid Blackman, Harvard Business Review; What Are Your Company’s AI Nightmares?

"Before generative AI burst onto the scene in late 2022, companies took a more or less standard approach to managing the risks introduced by AI: They developed AI ethical risk (or Responsible AI or AI Governance) programs. These programs were designed by executives and focused primarily on writing and implementing enterprise-wide AI policies that are meant to explain how the organization will live up to its AI ethics values (or principles or pillars, as they are also called). When generative AI showed up, organizations updated their programs to accommodate the new technology. Now that AI agents are gaining traction, most will likely try to update yet again.

That would be a mistake. The standard approach to Responsible AI is fundamentally broken. 

I do not come to this conclusion lightly. It is the result of, first, seeing how the AI landscape has evolved in ways that create a diabolically complex risk landscape, and second, spending nearly a decade working with Fortune 500 companies across healthcare, pharmaceuticals, insurance, financial services, entertainment, and more to design and implement AI ethical risk programs. I’ve also worked in an advisory capacity with three of the largest consultancies in the world. I’ve had countless closed-door conversations with other leaders in the AI governance space.

The standard approach is too slow, too vague, and too hard to communicate. Instead of focusing on values and policy, companies would be better served by focusing on their worst-case scenarios—their AI ethical nightmares. That’s because this focus allows them to apply a novel, rapidly implementable approach that works for everything from narrow AI to governing AI agents."

Anthropic’s $1.5B copyright settlement is getting messy as judge delays approval; Ars Technica, May 15, 2026

ASHLEY BELANGER  , Ars Technica; Anthropic’s $1.5B copyright settlement is getting messy as judge delays approval

"After several authors and class members raised objections to Anthropic’s $1.5 billion settlement over its widespread book piracy to train AI, a federal judge has delayed final approvals of the settlement.

On Thursday, US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin declined to rubber-stamp what’s regarded as the largest copyright settlement in US history. Instead, she wanted to better understand why some class members were objecting and opting out of the settlement. So, she asked authors to address key concerns of objectors, who argued that lawyers’ compensation was way too high and payments to class members were a “pittance.”...

Objectors may not win every fight, but they have seemingly persuaded the court to at least entertain their strongly worded pleas, including warnings that the settlement may not survive an appeal if the terms aren’t re-examined. Notably, their objections came shortly before a group of 25 class members opting out of the settlement filed a new lawsuit, showing that Anthropic is not done fighting these claims.

“For the Court to agree that counsel’s request of nearly a third of a billion dollars, while individual plaintiffs settle for a pittance of available compensation and no protections against future abuse is an aberration of civil justice and a slap in the face to all those who labored to publish their works,” Story said. “Such a decision would also further the too-often-observed stereotype that … class-action Plaintiffs are merely tools used to obtain Powerball-size payouts to attorneys.”

Judge William Alsup, who initially approved the settlement but has since retired, also questioned whether the lawyers’ fees were too high. Worried that the settlement was being “shoved down the throat of authors,” he recommended an independent investigation to ensure no improper attorneys’ fees would be granted, but according to Lea Bishop, a non-class member objector and professor of copyright law, the recommendation “was not squarely disclosed to incoming Judge Martinez-Olguin” in a status report submitted by authors’ lawyers. Additionally, class members weren’t notified of the investigation.

Authors must respond to objections raised by May 21, when Anthropic will also have to file a brief explaining “why late opt outs should not be honored,” the judge ordered."

Movers & Shakers 2026; Library Journal, May 4, 2026

  Lisa Peet, Library Journal; Movers & Shakers 2026

"LJ’s Movers & Shakers awards turn 25 this year, a full quarter-century of celebrating great work happening in the library field. The production of the annual issue always feels like a good opportunity for reflection on the preceding 12 months—more so than New Year’s Day or a birthday (although this year, the occasion of LJ’s 150th birthday may be an exception). It’s a moment to wonder not just how we’re all doing, but: Are we OK?

Judging by this year’s class of Movers, the answer would be an affirmative Yes.

Last year marked what felt like a period of great uncertainty and destabilization, and in many ways it continues to be. While the existence of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is now legally protected, the Trump administration’s federal budget seeks to zero out its funding. And across the country, libraries of all types have seen revenues cut, threats to the immigrant communities they serve, and state lawmakers challenging patrons’ freedom to read.

But libraries are meeting these challenges, in large and small and often unexpected ways. As LJ Editorial Director Hallie Rich points out in this month’s editorial, leadership takes many forms, some of it under the radar. Which is all the more reason to put together a feature like Movers & Shakers every year and shine a light on the ways—often simple (but not easy), often incremental, nearly always rooted in great care and concern—that library workers are supporting their communities. They are getting kids enthused about reading, safeguarding government data, providing options for justice-impacted individuals, ensuring diversity in collections, standing up to censorship, helping people find their roots, organizing clubs to bring people together, welcoming new Americans, and more. If this small sampling of creative and compassionate work being done to meet the moment is any indication, we are very much OK."

A Seat at the Table: Reflections from eight ALA trailblazers; American Libraries, May 1, 2026

 Anne Ford , American Libraries; A Seat at the Table: Reflections from eight ALA trailblazers

"For 150 years, the American Library Association (ALA) has shaped the landscape of libraries and the profession itself—but its leadership has often reflected the racial and gender biases of society at large. For this special anniversary issue, American Libraries spoke with eight barrier-busting Association leaders about their struggles, triumphs, breakdowns, and breakthroughs. The stories and lessons they share reveal how diversity fuels and transforms the power of libraries everywhere."

Authors, publishers near final approval of $1.5 billion Anthropic copyright settlement; Courthouse News Service, May 14, 2026

MARGARET ATTRIDGE  , Courthouse News Service; Authors, publishers near final approval of $1.5 billion Anthropic copyright settlement

"Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, a Joe Biden appointee, allowed objectors to address the court, where several spoke about the concerns they had with how the plaintiffs put together the eligible works list.

One class member told the judge that the works list undercounts the number of eligible works in the class by treating each copyright registration number as a single work, regardless of how many books are covered by the registration. The class member explained that she has certain group copyright registration numbers that include 40 separate, independently published novels under one registration number, all of which were downloaded by Anthropic without permission. However, under the current terms of the settlement agreement, the novels would be considered just one claimable work.

Another class member spoke to the exclusion of works that were published under a pseudonym, disadvantageous to small publishers and self-published authors in the class, while a third said they believed a one-time payment was not enough because Anthropic was continuing to profit off the copyrighted work they stole.

James H. Bartolomei III of Duncan Firm, an attorney representing four other objectors, asked the court to reopen the opt-out period as certain key documents from the case were only uploaded to the settlement website recently.

“Nothing I am asking for takes a dollar away from any class member who filed a claim. I’m not asking the court to stop the settlement from ever being approved. Just for sufficient information to make an informed choice,” he said."

Alex Haley’s “Roots” to be removed from Knox County Schools libraries; WATE, May 14, 2026

 Matt Hollingsworth, WATE; Alex Haley’s “Roots” to be removed from Knox County Schools libraries

"Alex Haley’s book “Roots” is included in an updated list of book titles to be removed from Knox County Schools libraries.

The schools previously removed other books from shelves due to the Age-Appropriate Materials Act including “Water for Elephants,” “A Court of Thorns and Roses” and “A Clockwork Orange.”

The state passed the Age Appropriate Materials Act in 2022 requiring schools to have a list of materials in their libraries and to have a policy for reviewing them for age appropriateness...

Haley grew up in Henning, Tennessee."

Why We Keep Tricking Ourselves Into Thinking A.I. Is Conscious; The New York Times, May 15, 2026

 Leif Weatherby, The New York Times; Why We Keep Tricking Ourselves Into Thinking A.I. Is Conscious

"Whenever there are large-scale shifts in media, humans have to adapt their cultural habits. Film and radio, for instance, meant voices of people not physically in the room with you may echo through. Adapting our reading practices to large language model output is a shift just like that one, where we change what we normally expect from our surroundings. We don’t expect meaningful and rhetorically powerful prose to come from anything but a conscious mind. But now it does. We cannot afford to believe the marketing message from A.I. companies that we may be dealing with some spiritual essence. In the age of cultural A.I., technical expertise alone won’t save us. We’ll have to add a new form of reading to make sense of our new world."

Committee publishes Government response to AI and copyright report; UK Parliament, May 15, 2026

UK Parliament; Committee publishes Government response to AI and copyright report

 "Chair’s response

Baroness Keeley, Chair of the Communications and Digital Committee, said:

“I am pleased that the Government’s response today confirms what it set out in March: that it no longer has a preference for introducing a broad copyright exception for AI training with an opt-out mechanism. It was clear that this approach would have been unworkable and placed an unfair burden on individual rightsholders. 

“The UK AI licensing market is emerging, and the Government now needs to create the conditions that will enable it to flourish. It can do this by ruling out any reform to copyright law that removes incentives to license, including proposals for a new commercial research exception, and committing to statutory transparency requirements for large AI developers. The Government says it will develop ‘best practice’ to encourage developers to be more transparent about the sources they use to train their models, but best practice alone will not promote licensing, drive compliance or enable robust enforcement. Only a mandatory framework will create the level playing field needed to foster responsible training data practices. 

“The coming months will be crucial in establishing a clear direction on AI and copyright for all stakeholders. The recently launched Sovereign AI Fund gives the Government the opportunity to insist on enhanced transparency and respect for copyright from the high-potential AI companies it supports. We will keep up a continued dialogue with Ministers to ensure that the Government is using all available levers, and demonstrating the necessary ambition, to drive meaningful progress on this issue.”

Pope decries rise of AI-directed warfare, saying it leads to a spiral of annihilation; The Associated Press via NPR, May 15, 2026

 The Associated Press via NPR; Pope decries rise of AI-directed warfare, saying it leads to a spiral of annihilation

"Pope Leo XIV on Thursday denounced how investments in artificial intelligence and high-tech weaponry were leading the world into a "spiral of annihilation," as he called for peace in the Middle East and Ukraine during a visit to Europe's largest university.

Leo's speech at Rome's La Sapienza University marked the first time a pope has visited the campus since Pope Benedict XVI called off a planned speech there in 2008 in the face of protests from faculty and students...

In his speech, Leo denounced how military spending had increased dramatically this year, especially in Europe, at the expense of education and healthcare, while "enriching elites who care nothing for the common good."

He called for better monitoring of how AI was being developed and used in military and civilian contexts "so that it does not absolve humans of responsibility for their choices and does not exacerbate the tragedy of conflicts."...

"What is happening in Ukraine, in Gaza and the Palestinian territories, in Lebanon, and in Iran illustrates the inhuman evolution of the relationship between war and new technologies in a spiral of annihilation," he said.

The pope said education and research must move instead in the opposite direction that values life "the lives of peoples who cry out for peace and justice!"

Leo has identified AI as one of the most critical matters facing humanity, especially its application in warfare and everyday life. They are themes he's expected to explore more fully in his first encyclical, due to be released in the coming weeks."

What really won the trillion-dollar Supreme Court case; TED Talks, April 2026

Neal Kumar Katyal , TED Talks ; What really won the trillion-dollar Supreme Court case

"In November 2025, Neal Kumar Katyal was asked to do what no US Supreme Court litigator had ever done: convince the justices to strike down a sitting president's signature initiative. After enlisting the help of four unlikely coaches — and one secret weapon he hasn't told anyone about until now — he walked into the courtroom ready for anything. What he discovered about winning and connecting might just change how you think about performing under pressure."

Neal Katyal draws criticism over TED Talk revealing AI use in SCOTUS tariffs case; ABA Journal, May 11, 2026

AMANDA ROBERT , ABA Journal; Neal Katyal draws criticism over TED Talk revealing AI use in SCOTUS tariffs case

"Attorney Neal Katyal revealed last week that he used artificial intelligence to prepare for his argument against President Donald Trump’s tariffs, drawing swift criticism online. 

Katyal, a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Milbank, argued the case before the U.S. Supreme Court in November. According to Bloomberg Law, he said during a TED Talk released Thursday that he “won” using a “bespoke AI system” trained on 25 years of justices’ questions during oral argument and their eventual opinions.

The system was built by Harvey AI, which “predicted many of the questions the justices asked—sometimes almost word for word,” Katyal said in an X post promoting the TED Talk. Katyal, a former acting solicitor general who has argued dozens of cases before the Supreme Court, also credited mindset, improv and meditation coaches for helping him prepare for the argument."

Anthropic and the Gates Foundation are teaming up on a $200 million AI push for global health; Quartz, May 14, 2026

 

Cris Tolomia , Quartz; Anthropic and the Gates Foundation are teaming up on a $200 million AI push for global health

"Anthropic and the Gates Foundation are committing $200 million over four years to deploy AI across global health, education, and economic mobility programs, the organizations said on Thursday.

Under the terms of the arrangement, the Gates Foundation will bring grant funding, program design, and expertise, while Anthropic's contribution takes the form of Claude AI usage credits and support from its technical staff, Reuters reported. Anthropic said the partnership is central to its efforts to extend AI's benefits in areas where markets alone will not.

The largest portion of the funding will focus on improving health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries, where about 4.6 billion people lack access to essential health services, Anthropic said. Specific initiatives include using Claude to screen potential drug and vaccine candidates for neglected diseases such as polio, HPV, and eclampsia, as well as working with the Gates Foundation's Institute for Disease Modeling to improve forecasts for where treatments for diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis are deployed."

Senators Defend Copyright Office Independence as AI and Executive Overreach Dominate Oversight Hearing; IP Watchdog, May 13, 2026

ROSE ESFANDIARI , IP Watchdog; Senators Defend Copyright Office Independence as AI and Executive Overreach Dominate Oversight Hearing

"Defending the Legislative Branch

The tension surrounding the Trump v. Perlmutter case surfaced during questioning. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) directly addressed the controversy, noting that while Perlmutter could not discuss pending litigation, she wanted to understand the historical value of the Copyright Office remaining within the legislative branch. Hirono referenced the fact that “President Trump tried to illegally fire you.”

Perlmutter responded carefully, highlighting the immense value of the Copyright Office acting as non-partisan expert advising Congress. She noted the Library of Congress serves as a natural home for the office given their overlapping missions, cautioning that moving the office to the executive branch would inevitably result in additional costs and disruption.

Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), speaking as the ranking member of the Rules Committee, defended the agency’s independence. He reminded the subcommittee that Trump had not only attempted to fire Perlmutter but had also fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, attempting to install his own Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche, in her place. Padilla characterized this as a failed “power grab” and a “clear assault” on the legislative branch. He emphasized that as Congress considers legislation to change appointment structures, it must ensure the Copyright Office remains protected from political interference.

Artificial Intelligence Challenge

Chairman Thom Tillis (R-NC) emphasized the delicate balance required in the artificial intelligence environment, as “there would not be anything to ingest for the training of AI models if it had not been for copyright law, which has encouraged the creation of content…and while there’s no question that the U.S. is in an AI race with China, the U.S. should not be in a race to the bottom.”"

Public Knowledge Opposes Blatant Move To Steal Copyright Office for Executive Branch; Public Knowledge, May 14, 2026

Shiva Stella , Public Knowledge; Public Knowledge Opposes Blatant Move To Steal Copyright Office for Executive Branch

"Today, the House Administration Committee marked up the “Legislative Branch Agencies Clarification Act,” a bill introduced by Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) to make the Register of Copyrights a position appointed by the president instead of the Librarian of Congress. The bill follows President Trump’s attempt to terminate the Register of Copyrights in 2025.

The following can be attributed to Meredith Rose, Senior Policy Counsel at Public Knowledge:

“This bill is a naked power grab on behalf of the White House. It claims to solve the very real problem of the Copyright Office’s constitutional authority – but its solution to the complex administrative and constitutional issues is to simply say, ‘haha, mine now,’ and snag it and the Register’s role for the executive branch.

“The one comfort is that this bill – the product entirely of House leadership and the White House working behind closed doors – has no chance of success. At a moment when Congress has a full suite of issues it could be addressing, it chooses to waste time on a pointless, unclear bill that is dead on arrival.”"

Maker of Canvas Learning Platform Strikes Deal for Hackers to Return Data; The New York Times, May 12, 2026

 Qasim Nauman, The New York Times; Maker of Canvas Learning Platform Strikes Deal for Hackers to Return Data

[Kip Currier: How confident are you that the stolen data and personal information from more than 275 million students and teachers at more than 9,000 colleges and universities around the world has been returned and that copies of that data have been destroyed?]

"The maker of Canvas, the software used by thousands of schools and universities around the world, said on Monday that it had reached a deal with the hackers that recently breached its systems for the return of stolen data and the destruction of any copies.

ShinyHunters, a hacking group, had claimed responsibility for the attack on Instructure, the Salt Lake City-based company that provides Canvas to about half of all colleges and universities in North America.

The hackers said they had accessed the data of more than 275 million users at nearly 9,000 schools worldwide, including private conversations between students and teachers as well as personal identifying information such as names and email addresses. Canvas was shut down for hours after the cyberattack on Thursday.

The agreement, Instructure said in a statement, involved the return of the stolen data and confirmation that the data had been destroyed at the hackers’ end. Instructure added that it had been informed that none of its customers would face extortion as a result of the theft."

'AI has no soul': Pope Leo expected to address AI's ethical challenges; USA TODAY, May 13, 2026

Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY ; 'AI has no soul': Pope Leo expected to address AI's ethical challenges

"Is thinking basically computing? Are humans just biological versions of machines – only less efficient than their AI counterparts?

The concept that people may develop such a mindset is a major concern for Catholic observers given the breakneck pace at which AI is developing.

“As soon as you start thinking of yourself as a machine, only not as good, then you’re just a commodity and have no other reason to live,” said John Cavadini, director of the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. “It’s a pathway to desolation.”

That’s why Cavadini and others are looking forward to the imminent release of Pope Leo XIV’s first major encyclical, expected to address the growing ethical and moral challenges of artificial intelligence.

The treatise will be Leo’s most authoritative document to date, as topical as it is symbolic: Though the Vatican has set no specific date, a May 15 release would come 135 years to the day that Pope Leo XIII, with whom the current pontiff shares his name, issued what is considered the first social encyclical of modern times, Rerum Novarum...

As the term implies, an encyclical is a "circular letter" designed to be shared among a community...

The overarching concern, Daly said, is whether AI will be leveraged to promote human flourishing or whether efficiency and productivity will become the focus, leaving patients behind...

Another overlooked but important risk of AI, Daly said, is that technological advances tend to favor those already represented in such settings – in other words, those adept with new technology and who have electronic health records...

Hayes-Mota hopes the papal document can place the church, especially in the U.S., at the forefront of an emerging and urgent public conversation. The pope, he said, can play a leading role in fostering that conversation and ensuring it’s “anchored in moral values” and the fundamental questions AI is raising."

UCF commencement speaker met with boos over pro-AI remarks during ceremony: ‘Struck a chord’; New York Post, May 13, 2026

 Nicholas McEntyre, New York Post; UCF commencement speaker met with boos over pro-AI remarks during ceremony: ‘Struck a chord’

"A Florida real estate bigwig faced mockery and boos for proclaiming that “artificial intelligence is the next Industrial Revolution” during her commencement speech at the University of Central Florida last week.

Gloria Caulfield, vice president of strategic alliances at Orlando-based Tavistock Development Company, made the highly ridiculed remark in front of communication and media graduates at the university’s Addition Financial Arena on Friday night.

“The rise of artificial intelligence is the next Industrial Revolution,” Caulfield said as a loud chorus of boos rained down on her."

Ye Owes $176,000 In Copyright Verdict Over Song From ‘Donda’; Bloomberg Law, May 13, 2026

Kyle Jahner

, Bloomberg Law; Ye Owes $176,000 In Copyright Verdict Over Song From ‘Donda’ 

"Rapper Ye and his company Yeezy LLC each owe $176,153 for infringing the copyright of music by DJ Khalil and others with a pre-album version of his song “Hurricane” from his “Donda” album, a California federal jury held.

Artist Revenue Advocates LLC, which was licensed the sound recording right to the song, prevailed Tuesday in its bid to show that Ye violated that right, a representative for Ye confirmed."

The AI Backlash Could Get Very Ugly; The Atlantic, May 13, 2026

Lila Shroff, The Atlantic ; The AI Backlash Could Get Very Ugly

"A version of this has played out before: Silicon Valley is fond of likening AI to the Industrial Revolution. In such comparisons, the tech industry likes to point to the immense wealth that industrialization unlocked. Over the long run, it’s true that the Industrial Revolution radically boosted economic growth. But living through it was another matter entirely. Many people saw their wages stagnate and working conditions deteriorate as factory owners and industrialists came into immense wealth. (Just read a Charles Dickens novel, and you’ll get the idea.) This led to riots and, occasionally, attacks on the industrialists themselves...

In much the same way, during an economic downturn of any kind, AI’s reputation seems likely to decline...

Silicon Valley is waking up to the resentment. Tech insiders have spent recent weeks exchanging tactics on X with advice on how to better sell AI. Perhaps, if data centers were beautiful, people would like them more? In particular, there’s been an effort to change the narrative around AI job loss. The venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz recently published an essay declaring the “job apocalypse” to be a baseless fantasy. “The macro story is not a jobless future, where we retire fat and complacent to our Netflix-scooters,” it read. In 2023, after ChatGPT came out, Altman told my colleague Ross Andersen that “jobs are definitely going to go away, full stop.” Now he appears to have changed his tune: “Jobs doomerism is likely long-term wrong,” Altman wrote earlier this month...

“Disruption has winners and losers,” Nathaniel Persily, a Stanford law professor and AI expert, told me. “For many Americans, they’re not convinced they’re going to be the winners, and they base that conclusion on the history of technology over the last 20 years.” If the tech industry truly believes that a simple change in messaging will quell the backlash, then they are misunderstanding the problem entirely."

Most U.S. doctors are quietly using this AI tool. Few patients know about it.; NBC News, May 13, 2026

  Jared Perlo, NBC News; Most U.S. doctors are quietly using this AI tool. Few patients know about it. 

"Almost two-thirds of physicians — or roughly 650,000 doctors — in the U.S. actively use OpenEvidence, while another 1.2 million use it internationally, OpenEvidence representatives said. With its quick and tailored replies, OpenEvidence has become an AI-era equivalent of consulting a colleague for their expert opinion, though the software can also write patient discharge notes and provide custom study tools for doctors’ medical exams.

“Sixty percent of all the searches are about how to make clinical decisions,” said Jena, who is currently examining 90 million OpenEvidence queries submitted since 2024 as part of a new research project. “The physicians are asking: For this particular patient, or with this profile, this condition, maybe other comorbidities that they have, what’s the right treatment?”

Yet with OpenEvidence’s skyrocketing popularity, some experts worry about potential hallucinations or incomplete answers, a lack of rigorous scientific studies on the tool’s patient impact, and the potential for doctors’ critical thinking and evaluation skills to erode with increased OpenEvidence use and dependence.

But many in the medical world see OpenEvidence as a time-saving tool that can improve patient care."

Canada Targets AI Copyright Rules While Weighing Social Media Age Restrictions — Web Summit; Deadline, May 12, 2026

Stewart Clarke , Deadline; Canada Targets AI Copyright Rules While Weighing Social Media Age Restrictions — Web Summit

"The Canadian government is preparing new rules on how copyright holders should be compensated when their work is used by AI systems, as it also weighs age restrictions on social media and tighter regulation of AI chatbots.

Evan Solomon, Canada’s Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, was speaking at Web Summit Vancouver."

Celebrities are filing trademarks to combat AI clones. Should you?; The Washington Post, May 8, 2026

Ethan Beck, The Washington Post ; Celebrities are filing trademarks to combat AI clones. Should you?

"The lawyers The Post spoke with for this article said that more celebrities might follow McConaughey and Swift in registering trademarks of their likenesses. If they’re using their likenesses or voices in a commercial context — a requirement to claim a trademark — these registrations could act as a safeguard. Pollack said a lot of his clients have asked about filing trademarks as a protection in the AI age.

“McConaughey and Swift registered sound clips, which is not entirely novel,” said Jennifer Rothman, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania. “That will probably cause more of a trend of people who are actors and singers using those voice clips to claim that their voice itself is a mark.”"