Organizations in two states issued ethics opinions this week about the use of AI “listeners.” The Missouri Supreme Court’s ethics committee issued an opinion on August 3, covering deposition software that listens and recommends follow-up questions in real time. The opinion points lawyers to existing professional rules of conduct.
The New York City Bar went further on August 5, advising lawyers to get consent before using AI to record conversations with nonclients, such as co-counsel, opposing counsel, witnesses, and more. New York City’s opinion also says not recording should ordinarily be the default. Neither opinion is binding law.
Plain Thinking warned prosecutors in one of its earliest issues to watch for AI-assisted third parties, including callers using consumer software for real-time coaching.
AI Leadership
Google’s AI division is shaking up its leadership. Demis Hassabis — the famed co-founder of DeepMind, which Google acquired in 2014, and a 2024 Nobel laureate for AI-assisted advances in protein science — is moving out of day-to-day operations. He will become chair of Google DeepMind and chief scientist of Alphabet, Google’s parent company.
The change comes at a moment when Google is pushing Gemini deeper into its products and competing to lead the next phase of AI development. Recently, Hassabis said AI could make all disease curable within “the next decade or so.” His new role gives him broader influence over the scientific direction of the company.
Longtime Google researcher Jeff Dean is also leaving after 27 years to co-found Discovery Loop, a new company that plans to use AI to automate scientific and engineering experiments. Alphabet is investing in the company, and Google will supply computing power and work with its researchers.
Android’s new “Intrusion Logging” feature can preserve encrypted phone records for up to 12 months if enabled by the user. (Amnesty International)
Fifteen state attorneys general asked OpenAI to pause advanced exploitation tests following a watershed hacking moment earlier this month. (Iowa Attorney General)
ALPR audits in Mooresville, North Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, led to one officer being charged and six personnel being placed on leave, respectively. (WBTV; Savannah Police Department)
The Ninth Circuit issued an early appellate opinion on how the law treats an AI agent’s interactions with a website. (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit)
San Diego is surveying vendors for AI police-report writing, while the U.S. administration seeks AI to analyze inmate communications at Fort Leavenworth. (City of San Diego; DefenseScoop)
AI altered citations in a previously verified draft filing, leading to Connecticut’s latest lawyer-hallucination blunder. (Connecticut Supreme Court)
A leading criminal defense association says AI use may become necessary to provide competent representation. (National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers)
Axon said Q2 revenue from its bundle of AI products grew nearly 700% year over year but did not disclose customer counts or which products drove the increase. (Axon)
Honolulu began its first drone-as-first-responder pilot for answering some 911 calls and officer requests. (Honolulu Police Department)
Citrus Heights, California, launched a multilingual online reporting system that asks follow-up questions before routing nonemergency reports to staff. (City of Citrus Heights)
A California city paid almost $1 million to scammers impersonating a legitimate city vendor. (San Francisco Chronicle)
A Minnesota city’s eight-camera ALPR network disappeared in one night in an apparent act of vandalism. (Winona Police Department)
