Josh Fairfield
@joshfairfield.bsky.social
Legal scholar, tech law nerd, reluctant futurist
AI, crypto, digital property & community
Prof @ W&L | Author | Testifies sometimes | Consultant
Book 3 on the way. Author alignment: Lawful Thoughtful
https://joshfairfield.com/
AI, crypto, digital property & community
Prof @ W&L | Author | Testifies sometimes | Consultant
Book 3 on the way. Author alignment: Lawful Thoughtful
https://joshfairfield.com/
OpenAI says “Temporary Chat” doesn’t store your chats.
A federal court says they must.
So either they’re violating a court order…
Or they’re gaslighting users.
Privacy theater is not privacy.
#privacytheater #fairfieldonprivacy #ailaw #openai
A federal court says they must.
So either they’re violating a court order…
Or they’re gaslighting users.
Privacy theater is not privacy.
#privacytheater #fairfieldonprivacy #ailaw #openai
July 25, 2025 at 1:33 PM
OpenAI says “Temporary Chat” doesn’t store your chats.
A federal court says they must.
So either they’re violating a court order…
Or they’re gaslighting users.
Privacy theater is not privacy.
#privacytheater #fairfieldonprivacy #ailaw #openai
A federal court says they must.
So either they’re violating a court order…
Or they’re gaslighting users.
Privacy theater is not privacy.
#privacytheater #fairfieldonprivacy #ailaw #openai
The predictions for entry-level hiring in almost every industry are dire...except law. AI misfires and misjudges legal relevance. Entry-level legal roles now mean verifying, cross-checking, and stress-testing AI’s work. AI is going to make these jobs essential.
#AIandLaw #LegalTech #FutureOfWork
#AIandLaw #LegalTech #FutureOfWork
June 19, 2025 at 10:47 AM
The predictions for entry-level hiring in almost every industry are dire...except law. AI misfires and misjudges legal relevance. Entry-level legal roles now mean verifying, cross-checking, and stress-testing AI’s work. AI is going to make these jobs essential.
#AIandLaw #LegalTech #FutureOfWork
#AIandLaw #LegalTech #FutureOfWork
ProPublica just exposed the VA using AI to cancel contracts based on the prompt: “munchable.”
Yes, really.
-$3k services flagged as $34m waste
-No legal standards applied
-AI doesn't reason, it predicts, then it scales
In theory, AI can do the job.
In practice, it doesn’t know what the job is.
Yes, really.
-$3k services flagged as $34m waste
-No legal standards applied
-AI doesn't reason, it predicts, then it scales
In theory, AI can do the job.
In practice, it doesn’t know what the job is.
June 7, 2025 at 2:19 PM
ProPublica just exposed the VA using AI to cancel contracts based on the prompt: “munchable.”
Yes, really.
-$3k services flagged as $34m waste
-No legal standards applied
-AI doesn't reason, it predicts, then it scales
In theory, AI can do the job.
In practice, it doesn’t know what the job is.
Yes, really.
-$3k services flagged as $34m waste
-No legal standards applied
-AI doesn't reason, it predicts, then it scales
In theory, AI can do the job.
In practice, it doesn’t know what the job is.
Law doesn’t move forward without brainstorming; every case has something new.
New analysis shows the use of AI cuts the uniqueness and originality of ideas by up to 94% in brainstorming.
In law, that’s not a bug, that’s a fatal flaw.
#futureoflaw #creativitycrisis #legaleducation #AIandlaw
New analysis shows the use of AI cuts the uniqueness and originality of ideas by up to 94% in brainstorming.
In law, that’s not a bug, that’s a fatal flaw.
#futureoflaw #creativitycrisis #legaleducation #AIandlaw
June 2, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Law doesn’t move forward without brainstorming; every case has something new.
New analysis shows the use of AI cuts the uniqueness and originality of ideas by up to 94% in brainstorming.
In law, that’s not a bug, that’s a fatal flaw.
#futureoflaw #creativitycrisis #legaleducation #AIandlaw
New analysis shows the use of AI cuts the uniqueness and originality of ideas by up to 94% in brainstorming.
In law, that’s not a bug, that’s a fatal flaw.
#futureoflaw #creativitycrisis #legaleducation #AIandlaw
AI handling lawsuits sounds efficient, until your case doesn’t fit the script. Legal disputes need humans who can adapt, not glitch. Sure, a human might get things wrong, but a human won’t forget they're in traffic court and start spouting off about white genocide. #ailaw
In depth: 'World’s first AI law firm' targets high street practices
Garfield Law, a pioneering firm providing legal services through AI, has been approved by the SRA. The founders, a City lawyer and a quantum physicist, are targeting LiPs and high street firms
tinyurl.com
May 26, 2025 at 11:50 AM
AI handling lawsuits sounds efficient, until your case doesn’t fit the script. Legal disputes need humans who can adapt, not glitch. Sure, a human might get things wrong, but a human won’t forget they're in traffic court and start spouting off about white genocide. #ailaw
In Ultra Processed People, there’s this line:
“Most UPF is not food, Chris. It’s an industrially produced edible substance.”
This is AI-generated “speech.”
It’s not speech. It’s a processed word product.
Know what we’re doing about UPF additives right now?
Regulating them.
tinyurl.com/y2fv6966
“Most UPF is not food, Chris. It’s an industrially produced edible substance.”
This is AI-generated “speech.”
It’s not speech. It’s a processed word product.
Know what we’re doing about UPF additives right now?
Regulating them.
tinyurl.com/y2fv6966
Are Character AI’s chatbots protected speech? One court isn’t sure
A judge is “not prepared” to say companion chatbots should receive First Amendment protection.
www.theverge.com
May 23, 2025 at 10:49 AM
In Ultra Processed People, there’s this line:
“Most UPF is not food, Chris. It’s an industrially produced edible substance.”
This is AI-generated “speech.”
It’s not speech. It’s a processed word product.
Know what we’re doing about UPF additives right now?
Regulating them.
tinyurl.com/y2fv6966
“Most UPF is not food, Chris. It’s an industrially produced edible substance.”
This is AI-generated “speech.”
It’s not speech. It’s a processed word product.
Know what we’re doing about UPF additives right now?
Regulating them.
tinyurl.com/y2fv6966
A decade with no state AI regulation.
That’s not a delay; it’s a decision.
A decision allowing deepfakes. Fraud scaling at pace. Your data, your face, your work as free fuel.
This should be the loudest conversation in the country.
Why isn’t it?
bit.ly/4kpQ53o
#AIRegulation #ReconciliationBill
That’s not a delay; it’s a decision.
A decision allowing deepfakes. Fraud scaling at pace. Your data, your face, your work as free fuel.
This should be the loudest conversation in the country.
Why isn’t it?
bit.ly/4kpQ53o
#AIRegulation #ReconciliationBill
GOP sneaks decade-long AI regulation ban into spending bill
Sweeping provision would halt all local oversight of AI by US states.
bit.ly
May 19, 2025 at 10:53 AM
A decade with no state AI regulation.
That’s not a delay; it’s a decision.
A decision allowing deepfakes. Fraud scaling at pace. Your data, your face, your work as free fuel.
This should be the loudest conversation in the country.
Why isn’t it?
bit.ly/4kpQ53o
#AIRegulation #ReconciliationBill
That’s not a delay; it’s a decision.
A decision allowing deepfakes. Fraud scaling at pace. Your data, your face, your work as free fuel.
This should be the loudest conversation in the country.
Why isn’t it?
bit.ly/4kpQ53o
#AIRegulation #ReconciliationBill
Reposted by Josh Fairfield
Meta is working on facial recognition glasses!?! www.404media.co/well-well-we... This is so dangerous.
I am currently working on a paper (with @joshfairfield.bsky.social ) about the threat to freedom of association new surveillance technologies pose, and the threat just keeps getting worse.
I am currently working on a paper (with @joshfairfield.bsky.social ) about the threat to freedom of association new surveillance technologies pose, and the threat just keeps getting worse.
Well, Well, Well: Meta to Add Facial Recognition To Glasses After All
Meta previously lost its shit at 404 Media when we reported that someone had paired facial recognition tech with the company's smart glasses. Now Meta is building the invasive technology itself.
www.404media.co
May 16, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Meta is working on facial recognition glasses!?! www.404media.co/well-well-we... This is so dangerous.
I am currently working on a paper (with @joshfairfield.bsky.social ) about the threat to freedom of association new surveillance technologies pose, and the threat just keeps getting worse.
I am currently working on a paper (with @joshfairfield.bsky.social ) about the threat to freedom of association new surveillance technologies pose, and the threat just keeps getting worse.
EU: Ad tracking has no legal basis.
US: Track, target, aggregate, then hand it to advertisers and the state.
This was never about consent for #SurveillanceCapitalism
www.iccl.ie/digital-data...
US: Track, target, aggregate, then hand it to advertisers and the state.
This was never about consent for #SurveillanceCapitalism
www.iccl.ie/digital-data...
EU ruling: tracking-based advertising by Google, Microsoft, Amazon, X, across Europe has no legal basis
Landmark court decision against “TCF” consent pop ups on 80% of the internet
www.iccl.ie
May 15, 2025 at 10:01 AM
EU: Ad tracking has no legal basis.
US: Track, target, aggregate, then hand it to advertisers and the state.
This was never about consent for #SurveillanceCapitalism
www.iccl.ie/digital-data...
US: Track, target, aggregate, then hand it to advertisers and the state.
This was never about consent for #SurveillanceCapitalism
www.iccl.ie/digital-data...
If I’d done sketchy things on the blockchain, I’d be nervous right now.
Pseudonymity is eroding. With AI and just a terabyte hard drive, tracing transactions is suddenly within reach, not just for govts, but for the public. Who’s digging into this? Let’s talk.
#BlockchainForensics #Chainanalysis
Pseudonymity is eroding. With AI and just a terabyte hard drive, tracing transactions is suddenly within reach, not just for govts, but for the public. Who’s digging into this? Let’s talk.
#BlockchainForensics #Chainanalysis
May 12, 2025 at 1:05 PM
If I’d done sketchy things on the blockchain, I’d be nervous right now.
Pseudonymity is eroding. With AI and just a terabyte hard drive, tracing transactions is suddenly within reach, not just for govts, but for the public. Who’s digging into this? Let’s talk.
#BlockchainForensics #Chainanalysis
Pseudonymity is eroding. With AI and just a terabyte hard drive, tracing transactions is suddenly within reach, not just for govts, but for the public. Who’s digging into this? Let’s talk.
#BlockchainForensics #Chainanalysis
In 2015, Erik Luna and I wrote about Digital Innocence; how social media data was being used to convict people, but rarely to exonerate them.
It’s 2025.
If courts let AI help prosecute, they must also allow it to help defend.
We need to talk about *Algorithmic Innocence*.
#DigitalEvidence
It’s 2025.
If courts let AI help prosecute, they must also allow it to help defend.
We need to talk about *Algorithmic Innocence*.
#DigitalEvidence
May 10, 2025 at 1:58 AM
In 2015, Erik Luna and I wrote about Digital Innocence; how social media data was being used to convict people, but rarely to exonerate them.
It’s 2025.
If courts let AI help prosecute, they must also allow it to help defend.
We need to talk about *Algorithmic Innocence*.
#DigitalEvidence
It’s 2025.
If courts let AI help prosecute, they must also allow it to help defend.
We need to talk about *Algorithmic Innocence*.
#DigitalEvidence
Again with Signal. In case any one person in particular missed this and could benefit from it:
bsky.app/profile/josh...
#OPSECFail #SignalApp #Privacy #encryptedmessaging
bsky.app/profile/josh...
#OPSECFail #SignalApp #Privacy #encryptedmessaging
From the “shouldn't have to say this, but here we are” dept:
Here is how to use Signal (more) safely. Or, less recklessly. Thread ⬇️
#signal #privacy #encryptedmessaging #fairfieldexplains
Here is how to use Signal (more) safely. Or, less recklessly. Thread ⬇️
#signal #privacy #encryptedmessaging #fairfieldexplains
April 22, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Again with Signal. In case any one person in particular missed this and could benefit from it:
bsky.app/profile/josh...
#OPSECFail #SignalApp #Privacy #encryptedmessaging
bsky.app/profile/josh...
#OPSECFail #SignalApp #Privacy #encryptedmessaging
Great quote from @profhilaryallen.bsky.social on blockchain regulation (or, really, lack of meaningful rules of the road):
"Unicorns with a side of regulatory arbitrage"
"Unicorns with a side of regulatory arbitrage"
April 17, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Great quote from @profhilaryallen.bsky.social on blockchain regulation (or, really, lack of meaningful rules of the road):
"Unicorns with a side of regulatory arbitrage"
"Unicorns with a side of regulatory arbitrage"
Reposted by Josh Fairfield
Essay I wrote with @joshfairfield.bsky.social for a excellent union (the PSA) project on AI for good has now been published. www.psa.org.nz/resources/pr.... I enjoyed being on a panel to launch this today &
I am quite pleased they kept the Butlerian Jihad reference in (at p 8)
I am quite pleased they kept the Butlerian Jihad reference in (at p 8)
Progressive Thinking
Bringing together some of Aotearoa New Zealand's brightest minds to share their perspective on pressing issues.
www.psa.org.nz
April 14, 2025 at 7:33 AM
Essay I wrote with @joshfairfield.bsky.social for a excellent union (the PSA) project on AI for good has now been published. www.psa.org.nz/resources/pr.... I enjoyed being on a panel to launch this today &
I am quite pleased they kept the Butlerian Jihad reference in (at p 8)
I am quite pleased they kept the Butlerian Jihad reference in (at p 8)
Using AI to cut benefits, as the Social Services Amendment Bill proposed in New Zealand appears to permit, is a huge mistake. 👇Thread 👇. #NZPol #AI #EthicalAI #StopRoboDebt www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
Ministry of Social Development to use basic AI to regrant benefits
Opponents fear a potential law change will create a loophole allowing AI to cut benefits and impose sanctions, which the ministry denies.
www.rnz.co.nz
April 10, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Using AI to cut benefits, as the Social Services Amendment Bill proposed in New Zealand appears to permit, is a huge mistake. 👇Thread 👇. #NZPol #AI #EthicalAI #StopRoboDebt www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
Overheard: "Someone's belief that a job can be effectively replaced by AI is directly proportional to the distance of that person from the job."
Developers think the CEO's job could be automated. CEOs think the sales jobs can be automated. The real answer is AI must facilitate human innovation.
Developers think the CEO's job could be automated. CEOs think the sales jobs can be automated. The real answer is AI must facilitate human innovation.
April 6, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Overheard: "Someone's belief that a job can be effectively replaced by AI is directly proportional to the distance of that person from the job."
Developers think the CEO's job could be automated. CEOs think the sales jobs can be automated. The real answer is AI must facilitate human innovation.
Developers think the CEO's job could be automated. CEOs think the sales jobs can be automated. The real answer is AI must facilitate human innovation.
The 👇 recent study showing an LLM “passed” the Turing Test wasn’t the first. But it does show the real problems of scaled social engineering: AI that does not get smarter, but makes us dumber to get past our defenses. (Brief) Thread ⬇️.
interestingengineering.com/culture/gpt-...
interestingengineering.com/culture/gpt-...
GPT 4.5 achieves 73% Turing Test success, blurring human-AI lines
Asked to adopt a ‘human-like persona,’ GPT‑4.5 and Meta’s Llama‑3.1‑405B outperformed human participants in a three-party Turing scenario.
interestingengineering.com
April 5, 2025 at 2:42 PM
The 👇 recent study showing an LLM “passed” the Turing Test wasn’t the first. But it does show the real problems of scaled social engineering: AI that does not get smarter, but makes us dumber to get past our defenses. (Brief) Thread ⬇️.
interestingengineering.com/culture/gpt-...
interestingengineering.com/culture/gpt-...
March 28, Amazon has removed the ability to tell Alexa to keep voice recordings local. This is terrible design: not needed for AI to get better, not needed to provide the service. The only real reason for it is to listen to things homeowners don't want Alexa to hear. The surveillance is the point.
March 31, 2025 at 3:53 PM
March 28, Amazon has removed the ability to tell Alexa to keep voice recordings local. This is terrible design: not needed for AI to get better, not needed to provide the service. The only real reason for it is to listen to things homeowners don't want Alexa to hear. The surveillance is the point.
From the “shouldn't have to say this, but here we are” dept:
Here is how to use Signal (more) safely. Or, less recklessly. Thread ⬇️
#signal #privacy #encryptedmessaging #fairfieldexplains
Here is how to use Signal (more) safely. Or, less recklessly. Thread ⬇️
#signal #privacy #encryptedmessaging #fairfieldexplains
March 29, 2025 at 2:24 PM
From the “shouldn't have to say this, but here we are” dept:
Here is how to use Signal (more) safely. Or, less recklessly. Thread ⬇️
#signal #privacy #encryptedmessaging #fairfieldexplains
Here is how to use Signal (more) safely. Or, less recklessly. Thread ⬇️
#signal #privacy #encryptedmessaging #fairfieldexplains
Reposted by Josh Fairfield
#LegalTech #Ireland is coming up on 7 April - the schedule is now available at www.universityofgalway.ie/business-pub... and there is still time to register!
Sign in to your account
universityofgalway.instructure.com
March 27, 2025 at 12:20 PM
#LegalTech #Ireland is coming up on 7 April - the schedule is now available at www.universityofgalway.ie/business-pub... and there is still time to register!
When AI eats its own tail, it damages the environment. My new piece, Clean Data: Recursion as Pollution in Environmental AI (scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/wlufac/881/) is out from Oxford University Press, with great editors @joshgellers.bsky.social and @spillteori.bsky.social. #OUP #AIethics #newoil
Clean Data: Recursion as Pollution in Environmental AI
If “data is the new oil,” then corruption in the data used to train artificial intelligence (AI) constitutes a new form of pollution. Environmental AI has traditionally been discussed in terms of its ...
scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu
March 25, 2025 at 4:21 PM
When AI eats its own tail, it damages the environment. My new piece, Clean Data: Recursion as Pollution in Environmental AI (scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/wlufac/881/) is out from Oxford University Press, with great editors @joshgellers.bsky.social and @spillteori.bsky.social. #OUP #AIethics #newoil
Reposted by Josh Fairfield
23andMe as a functioning company was a privacy disaster. 23andMe as a bankrupt, for sale company is a fucking nightmare
www.404media.co/dna-of-15-mi...
www.404media.co/dna-of-15-mi...
DNA of 15 Million People for Sale in 23andMe Bankruptcy
There is no way to know what a buyer will want to do with the reams of genetic information it has collected. Customers, meanwhile, still have no way to change their underlying genetic data.
www.404media.co
March 24, 2025 at 2:59 PM
23andMe as a functioning company was a privacy disaster. 23andMe as a bankrupt, for sale company is a fucking nightmare
www.404media.co/dna-of-15-mi...
www.404media.co/dna-of-15-mi...
Reposted by Josh Fairfield
Runaway Technology (2021) by Joshua A. T. Fairfield
"Offers a powerful argument for the centrality of law to our efforts to tackle a range of contemporary threats through organization and cooperation."
cup.org/3EcygVM
"Offers a powerful argument for the centrality of law to our efforts to tackle a range of contemporary threats through organization and cooperation."
cup.org/3EcygVM
Runaway Technology
Cambridge Core - Law and technology, science, communication - Runaway Technology
cup.org
January 27, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Runaway Technology (2021) by Joshua A. T. Fairfield
"Offers a powerful argument for the centrality of law to our efforts to tackle a range of contemporary threats through organization and cooperation."
cup.org/3EcygVM
"Offers a powerful argument for the centrality of law to our efforts to tackle a range of contemporary threats through organization and cooperation."
cup.org/3EcygVM
The New Harvard Law:
“Under controlled conditions of data selection, training, validation, and structured prompting, the AI will do as it damn well pleases.”
“Under controlled conditions of data selection, training, validation, and structured prompting, the AI will do as it damn well pleases.”
March 23, 2025 at 1:59 PM
The New Harvard Law:
“Under controlled conditions of data selection, training, validation, and structured prompting, the AI will do as it damn well pleases.”
“Under controlled conditions of data selection, training, validation, and structured prompting, the AI will do as it damn well pleases.”
"There is no meaningful distinction between 'machine speech' and 'human speech.'"
Bold paper by Prof. Jess Miers.
I disagree. Consider a review. If it is AI generated it doesn't tell you about lived experience with the product. Or a love letter. The AI doesn't love you. #internetlawwip25
Bold paper by Prof. Jess Miers.
I disagree. Consider a review. If it is AI generated it doesn't tell you about lived experience with the product. Or a love letter. The AI doesn't love you. #internetlawwip25
March 8, 2025 at 5:28 PM
"There is no meaningful distinction between 'machine speech' and 'human speech.'"
Bold paper by Prof. Jess Miers.
I disagree. Consider a review. If it is AI generated it doesn't tell you about lived experience with the product. Or a love letter. The AI doesn't love you. #internetlawwip25
Bold paper by Prof. Jess Miers.
I disagree. Consider a review. If it is AI generated it doesn't tell you about lived experience with the product. Or a love letter. The AI doesn't love you. #internetlawwip25