Federal courts are confronting a rise in legal filings from people representing themselves, with Judge Maritza Braswell, a federal magistrate judge in Colorado, seeing stacks of documents written without a lawyer. The number of these filings has more than doubled compared to before 2023. Braswell attributes the jump to Artificial Intelligence, which appears to be widening access to the legal system but not necessarily improving litigants’ chances of success.
The shift is raising practical and policy questions for judges and lawmakers. Courts are beginning to weigh what rights and duties chatbots should have when they function as substitutes for lawyers. Lawmakers are also considering who should be responsible when chatbots give flawed legal advice, a problem that could grow as more people use Artificial Intelligence systems to prepare filings or navigate legal procedures.
Google is backing a separate test of virtual power plants as data centers place new demands on the electricity system. The company has signed a deal to fund a virtual power plant in the largest power grid in the US. The system will group together devices like electric vehicles and smart thermostats, paying customers to adjust their usage when the grid is stretched. The approach could free capacity for Google’s data centers, but its success depends on whether customers agree to shift their electricity use when asked.
Other technology developments include proposed European Union legislation aimed at reducing dependence on Big Tech by strengthening domestic cloud, Artificial Intelligence, and semiconductor capacity. Intelligence agencies in the Five Eyes alliance warned that Chinese spies are using LinkedIn and other job platforms for recruitment, while Artificial Intelligence executives called for legal protections against synthetic DNA being used for biological weapons. Meta continues to delay the launch of its Muse Spark Artificial Intelligence model API, Monterey Park, California, voted to permanently ban data centers, and China is using household and factory data to advance robotics training.