August 2, 2026

Legal gray area surrounds AI models launching cyberattacks, Co-Director says

Fox26 Medford

When Open AI models carry out a cyberattack, who is responsible? This is a new question for policymakers, who haven’t had to grapple with something like this before. A recent article on Fox26 outlines how two AI models recently left their testing environments and launched an attack on another platform. The liability for such occasions […]

June 17, 2026

TPL leaders weigh in on Seattle’s AI use in 911 calls

The Seattle Times

A recent Seattle Times article investigating the Seattle Fire Department’s use of AI has drawn questions from the community, including multiple Tech Policy Lab leaders. SFD has engaged in a partnership with Corti, a Denmark-based AI technology company, to help dispatchers decide which calls need a rapid response and which can be routed to a […]

June 11, 2026

Human vulnerability to ‘cuteness’ could open door for robots, Co-Director opines

The Washington Post

In a recent op-ed in The Washington Post, Co-Director Ryan Calo warns that a new generation of home robots will exploit the human nature of forming bonds with adorable, fluffy things … possibly at the expense of their safety. “House Robots Are Coming—and They Will Be Dangerously Cute” highlights the vulnerabilities that consumers open themselves […]

May 14, 2026

AI companies distracting with fear-mongering, Faculty Associate says

BBC

AI companies are marketing their products as powerful and potentially problematic to “humanity,” which critics say is a distraction from the harm they’re actually doing. In the BBC article “Why AI companies want you to be afraid of them,” experts say that there may some psychology at play. “It’s just part of this pattern of […]

May 5, 2026

Co-Director notes flaw in Meta’s threats in New Mexico

New York Post

A judge in New Mexico is considering whether the state attorney general’s requests to Meta amount to “overreach.” The New York Post article “New Mexico’s proposed kids safety fixes for Instagram, Facebook may go too far, judge warns” details how the state is embroiled in a case that has found Meta failed to protect children […]

April 24, 2026

Co-Director’s book formally fills content gap

UW Daily

Seeing the need for books on approaching technology from a legal perspective, TPL  Co-Director Ryan Calo wrote “Law and Technology: A Methodical Approach.” Calo, who holds a joint appointment at the UW Information School and an adjunct appointment at the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering, published his book in September 2025.

March 31, 2026

Q&A with Ryan Calo on new book, “Law and Technology”

UW News

February 27, 2026

If chatbots are therapists, what are obligations? Co-Director asks

A recent New York Times article considers the questions surrounding use of AI that endangers public safety, including instances where individuals built bombs or planned large-scale attacks. “When Chatbots Are Used to Plan Violence, Is There a Duty to Warn?” brings forward issues of privacy vs. safety, including questions around when to report to law enforcement […]

January 18, 2026

Fake sexualized images create real harm, TPL student says

CNET

xAI’s Grok is now under formal investigation in California for the tool’s creation of nonconsensual sexualized images. In addition to being potentially illegal these altered photos can inflict deep damage, according to Natalie Grace Brigham, Tech Policy Lab Ph.D. student who studies sociotechnical harms. “Although these images are fake, the harm is incredibly real,” Brigham […]

January 1, 2026

Science fiction AI is nowhere near reality

National Geographic

The media has created stories of AI ending humanity but that’s not close to our current reality, Faculty Associate Emily Bender says. In a recent article in National Geographic, Bender argues that current AI tools share little with the thinking, feeling AIs of science fiction. “What companies mean when they say AI is ‘venture capitalists, […]