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In this issue….

Upcoming AI conferences, commentary on singularity, and update on AI slop story.

Knight Institute conference in April to address relationship between AI and democracy

The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University is hosting a two day conference entitled the Symposium on AI and Democratic Freedoms on April 10th and 11th. The symposium is touted as touting the “risks that advanced AI systems pose to democratic freedoms as well as interventions to mitigate these risks.”

Featured topics include

• Regulating AI in a time of Democratic Upheaval
• Using AI to Enhance Democracy
• AI, Freedom of Expression, and Democratic Backsliding

Featured speakers hail both from multiple top-ranked universities around the globe and from the AI industry.

Online attendance is free, and you may register here.

CFP coming soon for The AI Conference in San Francisco, September 2025

The AI Conference in San Francisco will post its CFP soon, according to its website. The conference’s list of speakers is stacked with industry professionals, not representatives from the academic or library worlds.

Singularity predictions and commentary

Discussion about the singularity has been popping up in news and social media in the past month. Here’s a round up.

• Popular Mechanics explains the concept in a piece published last fall, and offered an update on the anticipated timeline just last week.
• In this piece from The Guardian, futurist Ray Kurzweil shares his thoughts on our anticipated collision course with the singularity.
• Thomson Reuters offers a judicial/legal perspective in this piece from Magistrate Judge Maritza Braswell.

DeepSeek AI demo webinar

Yesterday, SLAAIT hosted a demonstration webinar on DeepSeek by the University of Texas’ Dr. David Lankes. The recording can be accessed here.