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The legal battle over prediction markets is intensifying, with Connecticut becoming the latest state to sue Kalshi. Federal and state courts are producing roughly split rulings on whether platforms like Kalshi fall under state gambling law or federal commodities oversight, and legal observers increasingly think the Supreme Court may ultimately have to settle the question.
Shifting to academic integrity, researchers from Samsung and the University of Warsaw have identified what they're calling AI ghosts — fabricated names like Elena Vasquez and Marcus Chen appearing as credited co-authors across hundreds of AI-generated academic papers. These people never existed, yet their names have shown up attached to work on volcanoes, space exploration, and more, raising serious questions about how deeply synthetic content has already contaminated scholarly publishing.
And in a troubling reminder of what surveillance tools can become in the wrong hands, a Georgia police officer used the Flock license plate tracking system to monitor his ex-partner and a man whose vehicle frequently appeared near hers. The system, designed for public safety, was turned into a personal stalking instrument, and the case is drawing fresh scrutiny over who has access to these powerful tools and whether oversight is anywhere near adequate.
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