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France Mocked U.S. for Human Rights Vote, Then Quietly Apologized
Confirmed
In Short: France recently apologized for criticizing the U.S. on human rights, as a cross-party group of MPs and peers in the UK highlighted the risks of AI to human rights.
A cross-party group of MPs and peers in the UK has identified human rights risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI), arguing that existing laws are ill-equipped to address the technology's rapid growth.
The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) published a report calling for a new bill on AI to 'address the scale and seriousness' of such threats.
The JCHR's summary of its 100-page report cited AI's responsibility for numerous abuses of human rights, including the use of AI to create sexualised images of women and girls, and scanning people's faces without consent.
This comes after France mocked the U.S. for its stance on human rights, only to quietly apologize, highlighting the complex international dynamics surrounding human rights issues.
The UK's concerns about AI reflect growing global awareness of the potential for AI to infringe on human rights, prompting calls for new legislation to protect individuals from these emerging threats.
What's confirmed
- A cross-party group of MPs and peers in the UK has identified human rights risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI), arguing that existing laws are ill-equipped to address the technology's rapid growth.
- The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) published a report calling for a new bill on AI to 'address the scale and seriousness' of such threats.
- The JCHR's summary of its 100-page report cited AI's responsibility for numerous abuses of human rights, including the use of AI to create sexualised images of women and girls, and scanning people's faces without consent.
- This comes after France mocked the U.S. for its stance on human rights, only to quietly apologize, highlighting the complex international dynamics surrounding human rights issues.
- The UK's concerns about AI reflect growing global awareness of the potential for AI to infringe on human rights, prompting calls for new legislation to protect individuals from these emerging threats.
What's still developing
- As more than 20 states and the Trump administration continue their legal battle over whether Trump can force the U.S. Postal Service to restrict vote-by-mail ballots in time for the Nov. 3 election, people are taking to social media to encourage others to vote early and use ballot drop boxes rather than rely on the mail, writes CalMatters’ Maya C.
- As someone who was born in the Jim Crow South, the fight over voting rights is personal to me, and I will do everything in my power to protect your right to vote, writes Shirley Weber, California’s secretary of state who is running for reelection.
- Federal criminal probe of Newsom expands ; SF mayor’s wife named in subpoenas // The San Francisco Standard (paywall) Architect of CA billionaire tax tried to ‘extort’ support for the measure and targeted women, union reports find // Los Angeles Times (paywall) How Trump’s immigration policies can leave CA doctors feeling powerless // KQED (free) SF, heartland of AI, to weigh moratorium on new data centers // San Francisco Chronicle (gift link) Conservative group files federal civil rights complaint against East Bay school district // The Mercury News (gift link) Will the economy motivate voters?
- President Donald Trump’s efforts to limit mail-in voting could encourage something that election officials and voting advocates have struggled to do for years: Get people to vote earlier.
- Trump’s plan would have the postal service refuse to deliver ballots in states that withhold data on eligible voters.
- Landmark motion declaring local flora has the ‘right to flourish’ passes unanimously Landmark motion declaring local flora has the ‘right to flourish’ passes unanimously Lewes in East Sussex has become the first town in England to officially grant rights to its trees, following a local council vote to adopt a new municipal "Tree Charter".
- The measure, approved by Lewes Town Council in a unanimous vote on Thursday, formally acknowledges the “intrinsic value” of all local trees, hedgerows, and forests.
- Globally, the decision aligns Lewes with a growing international "rights of nature" movement, where countries including Bolivia, Panama, and New Zealand have passed national legislation granting legal personhood to forests and rivers.