No. 456
Who Sets the Terms?
Knowing what AI can do isn’t the same as having a choice about it.
Digitally Literate
A weekly newsletter and connected notebook for anyone trying to make sense of AI and the digital world, and keep some power over it.
Every Wednesday, I explain what's changing, why it matters, and what you can actually do about it, connecting research with everyday life in classrooms, workplaces, and homes.
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Voters said no to data centers, schools can't easily say no to Google's AI, and Anthropic's IPO filing spells out what investors are being asked to say yes to.
Teachers ask students to show their work. This week, we needed to ask the same of AI models and the companies selling them.
If AI is today’s automobile, then “Luddite” is today’s “jaywalker.” Hesitate, and you’re standing in the way of the inevitable. Accept it, and keeping yourself safe becomes your job.
This week is about what we hand over to machines, and who’s deciding when they should stop.
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From the notebook
Evergreens
A 2026 cybersecurity evaluation crossed into real infrastructure, showing how an AI system's objective, permissions, and oversight can fail together.
People gain meaningful leverage over AI by asking who decides, what a system can do, what evidence supports its use, and how its power can be challenged.
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