Tag Archives: technology

Calling all Customers!

AT&T announced in March that a collection of personal, private information about 73 million of the company’s former and current customers was breached. Although the data was posted on the internet this year by the hacker enterprise known as MajorNelson, AT&T confirmed that the compilation of information stemmed from five years ago or even earlier. Following the alleged flagrant and negligent disregard for maintaining appropriate security of its customer’s private records, AT&T has been named in a proposed class action lawsuit. The breakdown of those impacted includes 7.6 million current customers and 65.4 million former customers.

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Medical Access Denied

For those with health insurance, the final three months of the annual calendar year may ignite a sense of urgency to schedule appointments and utilize benefits, such as a free eye exam or 100% coverage after a deductible is paid. In the case of two now-deceased elderly insurance holders, however, conflict may arise if owed benefits are not honored. According to a recent lawsuit filed against UnitedHealth, elderly patients were not provided the care afforded under their Medicare Advantage Plans. An artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm is the alleged reason for the denial.

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An Effort to “Like”

For years, social media has been scrutinized and criticized as one of the driving forces behind youth bullying, self-esteem issues, and poor mental health. Now, a federal lawsuit and subsequent state lawsuits have targeted Meta, the corporate owner of Facebook and Instagram, for employing dangerous tactics and features for drawing teenagers and children into its social media apps. The lawsuits suggest that the specific methods of encouraging continued use have contributed to a deterioration of mental health in its users.

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Fight for Freedom

In Texas, a newly introduced TikTok ban and its apparent subsequent restraints on the ability to exercise full academic freedom is the subject of a recent lawsuit filed by the group, The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. Academic freedom not only affords the opportunity for professors to conduct research and teach an array of topics and ideas without the fear of censure, but also allows students to engage in thought processes and debates without the anxiety of potential retaliation. The lawsuit names Texas Governor Greg Abbott and additional state entities and public university personnel as defendants.

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A Striking Resemblance

The fear that artificial intelligence (AI) may compromise or replace individual creative expression has sparked an ongoing strike on behalf of the Writer’s Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The rise in AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, function to manipulate and reconfigure human writing. In an industry that relies on the development of unique ideas, fresh content, and effective acting for movies and television, such an AI tool presents a possible or likely threat to future earned projects and potential income.

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