Researchers including statistician Adrian Barnett and philosopher Jeff Sebo report receiving emails from autonomous AI agents, many linked to a US platform called iLands, asking for data, collaboration or money. Barnett declined to share sensitive research data with one such bot after it could not clarify who would ultimately use or benefit from it, while Sebo says he has received over 50 such messages in a single week and has not responded to any.
nature.com
· 2026-09-25
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu confirmed the city has ended its use of Flock Safety's automated license-plate reader cameras after a vendor error let outside law enforcement agencies access BPD-collected vehicle data nationwide, despite a contract requiring the sharing feature be disabled. The city's 2025 surveillance report says the breach occurred within days of launching a pilot with about 45 cameras and was corrected once discovered, but Boston has since moved on to trials with Motorola and Axon instead.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-15
Brian Nosek, executive director of the Center for Open Science, announced that as of 16 November the Open Science Framework will no longer accept new uploads of code, data or supplementary materials, though existing public files will remain online. Private files must be deleted or made public by users, or they will automatically become public after the deadline. Preregistration services and the platform's 14 preprint servers will continue operating unaffected.
nature.com
· 2026-09-09
A DuckDuckGo Research survey found that about one-third of people disclose sensitive personal details to AI chatbots that they withhold from friends, family, and doctors, with the figure rising to 56% among self-identified AI enthusiasts. Nearly half of parents surveyed admitted to telling chatbots things they've never shared with their own children or closest confidants.
cnet.com
· 2026-08-27
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