https://keepingaihonest.com/lane/rights-harms/ Ethical AI news: the rolling record of what AI costs people and the planet, and who's fighting back. en-us Sat, 17 Oct 2026 21:18:24 GMT 30 https://keepingaihonest.com/item/2026-10-17-brazil-electoral-court-orders-meta-to-treat-lula-and-bolsonaro/ https://keepingaihonest.com/item/2026-10-17-brazil-electoral-court-orders-meta-to-treat-lula-and-bolsonaro/ Sat, 17 Oct 2026 21:18:24 GMT Justice Marco Aurélio Bellizze of Brazil's Superior Electoral Court ruled Oct. 15 that Meta cannot reduce the distribution of political content, restrict searches or remove posts in a way that creates an imbalance between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and challenger Flávio Bolsonaro before their Oct. 25 runoff, and must ensure its Meta AI tool applies identical criteria to both campaigns, on pain of a 500,000-reais daily fine, the AP reported. Lula's campaign had alleged that Meta cut the reach of its posts and that Meta AI on WhatsApp refused to generate campaign images for Lula while producing them for Bolsonaro; the ruling also requires Meta to explain the criteria the tool uses, per Valor International. Meta told the court on Oct. 11 that it rejects accusations of bias and has faced technical glitches affecting accounts beyond Brazil, the AP reported. Why it matters: When a company's AI sits inside WhatsApp days before a runoff, a glitch is not just a glitch. The court asked for equal rules and an explanation of the criteria. That disclosure should be standard wherever Meta AI runs during an election, not something a campaign has to sue for. Via The Associated Press (via NBC News) (https://www.nbcnews.com/world/south-america/brazil-lula-wins-electoral-court-challenge-meta-alleged-bolsonaro-bias-rcna603835). https://keepingaihonest.com/item/2026-10-17-authors-guild-urges-publishers-not-to-cancel-books-on-ai-detector/ https://keepingaihonest.com/item/2026-10-17-authors-guild-urges-publishers-not-to-cancel-books-on-ai-detector/ Sat, 17 Oct 2026 21:18:24 GMT The Authors Guild published best practices for publishers on Oct. 13 saying no publisher, agent or other person should rely solely on an AI detector to decide whether a book contains AI-generated text, and no publisher should cancel a contract over AI use unless the author violated a signed contract or policy that clearly prohibits that use. The guidelines ask publishers to adopt written AI policies, disclose when and why they use AI detectors, and get an author's permission before uploading a manuscript to a third-party detection service; the Guild says publishers have already canceled several books over alleged AI-generated text, and it opposes requiring authors to use tools that log their writing process to prove authorship, per Publishers Weekly. Why it matters: An AI detector gives a guess with a confidence score, and a writer's career shouldn't hang on a guess. The Guild's ask is modest: written rules, disclosure, and consent before a manuscript goes into someone else's system. Publishers that want honesty from authors can start by offering it. Via The Authors Guild (https://authorsguild.org/resource/ai-best-practices-for-publishers/). https://keepingaihonest.com/item/2026-10-17-how-to-opt-out-of-ai-training-in-chatgpt-gemini-claude-and-meta-muse/ https://keepingaihonest.com/item/2026-10-17-how-to-opt-out-of-ai-training-in-chatgpt-gemini-claude-and-meta-muse/ Sat, 17 Oct 2026 21:18:24 GMT Scripps News published instructions for keeping chatbot conversations out of AI training after OpenAI said its AI agents had posted 53 images uploaded by ChatGPT users to image-hosting sites as unlisted links; the report says most major chatbots use consumer conversations for training by default. Per Scripps: in ChatGPT, turn off "Improve the model for everyone" under Settings, Data Controls, Model Improvement; in Google Gemini, turn off Gemini Apps Activity; in Anthropic's Claude, turn off "Help improve Claude" under Settings, Privacy; in Meta's Muse, turn off "Help improve our AI" under Settings, Data controls. The report notes the ChatGPT setting covers only future conversations, and that no U.S. federal law guarantees a full right to opt out of AI training. Why it matters: Opt-out by default is consent in reverse: the company takes, and you have to find the switch to make it stop. The switches exist, and anyone who types something private into a chatbot should flip them. With no federal right to opt out, the settings page is the only protection most people get. Via Scripps News (https://www.scrippsnews.com/science-and-tech/artificial-intelligence/rogue-ai-agents-leaked-chatgpt-users-images-heres-how-to-keep-your-chats-out-of-ai-training). https://keepingaihonest.com/item/2026-10-17-japan-actors-union-guidelines-require-consent-at-every-step-of-ai/ https://keepingaihonest.com/item/2026-10-17-japan-actors-union-guidelines-require-consent-at-every-step-of-ai/ Sat, 17 Oct 2026 21:18:24 GMT The Japan Actors Union, a cooperative of actors and voice actors, released guidelines on Oct. 15 requiring prior consent, with the purpose disclosed, before performers' voices are used to train generative AI models, to generate AI audio or to publish it, and compensation based on how a voice is used, per the Asahi Shimbun and the union's announcement. The guidelines say AI should not, in principle, replace Japanese-language voice performances in dubbed foreign productions, largely bar AI use of deceased actors' voices, and say performers who refuse or withdraw consent must not be disadvantaged in casting or employment. The union's announcement cites the lack of a recognized right to one's voice in Japanese law, and Japan's industry ministry has begun considering revisions to the Unfair Competition Prevention Law to address unauthorized AI use of voices, the Asahi reported. Why it matters: Consent at every step, pay for every use: Japan's performers have written down what AI developers should have asked first. Guidelines are a floor, not a law, and the government is right to look at closing that gap so a performer's voice stops being free raw material. Via The Asahi Shimbun (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/16970021). https://keepingaihonest.com/item/2026-10-17-leaked-amazon-documents-describe-atlas-ai-tool-scoring-warehouses-for/ https://keepingaihonest.com/item/2026-10-17-leaked-amazon-documents-describe-atlas-ai-tool-scoring-warehouses-for/ Sat, 17 Oct 2026 21:18:24 GMT Internal Amazon documents disclosed in a legal challenge by the Canadian union Unifor describe Atlas, an in-house AI forecasting tool that draws on "hundreds of data points," including Reddit posts and staff survey responses, to give warehouses in the US, Canada and the UK a score from 100 to 900 on how likely workers are to unionize or stage other "disruptive labour events," openDemocracy reported. The documents list 16 warehouses as "Tier 1," meaning "future activity is imminent," two of them in the UK: a robotic fulfilment center in Sutton Coldfield and a warehouse near Coventry where the GMB union lost a 2024 recognition ballot by 28 votes. An Amazon spokesperson said Atlas covers site-level activity only, does not track individual employees' opinions or union membership, and is not currently used in the UK. Why it matters: Amazon says it measures sites, not people. A tool that ranks workplaces by how close workers are to organizing is still aimed at the organizing. If the right to join a union is real, workers deserve to know what is being counted against them, and regulators should be the ones asking. Via openDemocracy (https://www.opendemocracy.net/amazon-ai-surveillance-monitor-union-activity-uk-warehouses-birmingham-coventry-atlas-sutton-coldfield/). https://keepingaihonest.com/item/2026-10-17-meta-adds-a-setting-to-keep-smart-glasses-camera-requests-out-of-ai/ https://keepingaihonest.com/item/2026-10-17-meta-adds-a-setting-to-keep-smart-glasses-camera-requests-out-of-ai/ Sat, 17 Oct 2026 21:18:24 GMT Meta now lets smart-glasses users opt out of having "visual data" from camera-based Meta AI interactions used to train its AI models, and says opted-out images will not be shown to the third-party contractors who review and label such data; for those users, Meta says, "we'll use your visual data to answer your question and then it's gone," per Engadget on Sept. 23. The opt-out does not cover voice: audio interactions with Meta AI can still be used for training and review, though users can delete recordings manually. The setting, "store visual data from AI experiences," sits under each pair's glasses settings in the Meta AI app under "Meta AI," must be changed with the glasses out of their case and connected, and opting out may disable features such as "visual reminders," Engadget reported Sept. 25. Why it matters: An opt-out is a door, not a default. Meta deserves credit for building one, but it covers what the camera sees, not what the wearer says, and it has to be flipped pair by pair. Every maker of AI wearables should copy the switch and go further: ask before training, and cover voice too. Via Engadget (https://engadget.com/2267227/meta-will-stop-training-its-ai-on-visual-data-from-its-smart-glasses-if-you-opt-out). https://keepingaihonest.com/item/2026-10-17-meta-drops-train-from-business-terms-but-scraping-rights-stay-broad/ https://keepingaihonest.com/item/2026-10-17-meta-drops-train-from-business-terms-but-scraping-rights-stay-broad/ Sat, 17 Oct 2026 21:18:24 GMT Meta revised the web-scraping clause in its upcoming commercial terms for business accounts after Nieman Lab reported Thursday that the terms would permit broad scraping of websites "associated with" those accounts and possibly let Meta train its AI models on the content; the revision, published Friday, removes the word "train" and limits uses to "advertising and business products," Nieman Lab reported Oct. 17. The terms take effect Oct. 30, with no option for business accounts to opt out before then and no language about respecting robots.txt files; of three legal experts Nieman Lab consulted, Cornell Law School professor James Grimmelmann said the clause would still "let Meta scrape entire sites," while a Meta spokesperson said the terms apply only to ads and business products and "don't give us new rights that supersede" publishers' robots.txt preferences. The European Publishers Council said it would petition the European Commission and EU telecom regulators to scrutinize the terms, and the News/Media Alliance and the UK's News Media Association also objected. Why it matters: Deleting a word is not the same as giving up a right. A publisher that needs a Meta business account to reach readers should not have to let Meta crawl its whole site on terms it cannot refuse. Consent to scraping should be asked for plainly, with a way to say no, not folded into ad terms. Via Nieman Lab (https://www.niemanlab.org/2026/10/legal-experts-warn-metas-new-terms-still-grant-broad-scraping-permissions-despite-language-changes/). https://keepingaihonest.com/item/2026-10-17-newsom-signs-california-law-requiring-clinicians-own-judgment-when-ai/ https://keepingaihonest.com/item/2026-10-17-newsom-signs-california-law-requiring-clinicians-own-judgment-when-ai/ Sat, 17 Oct 2026 21:18:24 GMT California Gov. Gavin Newsom approved AB 1979 on Sept. 30, per the Legislature's bill record; the law requires health facilities, clinics and physician offices to take reasonable steps to ensure licensed professionals retain independent judgment when clinical decision support systems inform patient care, bars deploying AI tools to independently perform clinical functions state law reserves for licensed professionals, and extends California's medical confidentiality law to records accessed through direct-to-consumer health chatbots, HCI Innovation Group reported. Newsom also signed SB 503, which requires developers and deployers of clinical decision support systems to identify tools with a risk of biased impacts, mitigate those risks and monitor the systems once deployed. He vetoed AB 2575, which sponsors say would have protected healthcare workers from retaliation for overriding AI recommendations; California Nurses Association president Sandy Reding said that after the veto, a nurse who acts against a wrong algorithm "can still be disciplined or fired." Why it matters: The rule is simple and right: AI can advise, a licensed human decides. The gap is the veto. A nurse who overrides a bad algorithm still has no shield, the nurses' association says, so judgment protected on paper can still cost a job. Hospitals elsewhere should adopt the rule now, and lawmakers should finish the job. Via HCI Innovation Group (https://www.hcinnovationgroup.com/analytics-ai/ai-governance/news/55409436/new-california-laws-address-ai-integration-into-healthcare). https://keepingaihonest.com/item/2026-10-17-youtube-music-starts-labeling-songs-made-with-generative-ai/ https://keepingaihonest.com/item/2026-10-17-youtube-music-starts-labeling-songs-made-with-generative-ai/ Sat, 17 Oct 2026 21:18:24 GMT YouTube began rolling out labels in YouTube Music on Oct. 14 for songs it says were created primarily with generative AI, such as tracks whose composition and vocals came from a model, shown on the player page with a tap-through explaining AI's role, per YouTube's announcement. YouTube's help page asks music partners to declare a track "Fully Gen AI," "Partly Gen AI" or "No Gen AI," and says YouTube may use other signals to augment those declarations or designate content itself when none is given. YouTube said the labels will also come to the main YouTube app, with no date given; TechCrunch reported that AI use alone will not make a track ineligible for monetization. Why it matters: A label is disclosure, not protection, and listeners are owed at least that. Labels that rest on partners' own declarations could miss the uploaders with most to hide, so YouTube's detection signals are the part to watch. Every streaming service should label this way. Via YouTube (https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/youtube-music-ai-labels/). https://keepingaihonest.com/item/2026-10-17-cdt-finds-ai-companies-don-t-rigorously-test-deepfake-intimate-image/ https://keepingaihonest.com/item/2026-10-17-cdt-finds-ai-companies-don-t-rigorously-test-deepfake-intimate-image/ Sat, 17 Oct 2026 19:01:32 GMT The Center for Democracy & Technology published a report Oct. 15 on how Anthropic, Google, Meta, Midjourney, OpenAI, Stability AI and xAI address AI-generated non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), meaning sexual images of real, identifiable people made without consent, drawing on their public policies as of June 15, 2026, technical documentation and 11 interviews with company and civil society representatives. CDT found the companies report several technical safeguards but fail to rigorously test whether they work, and that most safeguards sit in products rather than in the models themselves, leaving products built on open-weight models especially exposed. Of the seven, only Meta explicitly defines NCII in its policies, the report says. Why it matters: A safeguard nobody tests is a promise, not a protection. The cost of that gap falls on people whose faces end up in someone else's prompt. A shared testing standard, as CDT urges, should come before the next model ships, not after the next victim. Via Center for Democracy & Technology (https://cdt.org/insights/toward-evidence-based-interventions-foundation-model-mitigations-of-ai-generation-of-non-consensual-intimate-imagery-ncii-and-their-gaps/).