The Download: AI-generated lawsuits and virtual power plants for data centers

A federal magistrate judge in Colorado reports that AI tools have driven a doubling of court filings from unrepresented litigants since 2023, but the technology has not improved their chances of winning. Judges are now questioning what rights and duties chatbots should have as they replace lawyers, while lawmakers debate who should be liable when AI produces bad legal advice. Separately, Google has signed a deal to fund a virtual power plant on the largest US power grid, paying customers to adjust their electricity usage to free up capacity for data centers.

The Download: AI-generated lawsuits and virtual power plants for data centers Plus: The EU has proposed new legislation to end its Big Tech dependence. This is today's edition of The Download https://forms.technologyreview.com/newsletters/briefing-the-download/? ga=2.179569122.736533416.1649661040-405833893.1649413289 , our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. How courts are coping with a flood of AI-generated lawsuits Most days in her chambers, Judge Maritza Braswell, a federal magistrate judge in Colorado, sifts through stacks of documents written by people without a lawyer. The number of these filings has more than doubled compared to before 2023. She puts that jump down to AI. But while AI appears to be expanding access to justice, it doesn’t seem to be improving people’s chances of winning. Judges are starting to question what rights and duties chatbots should have as they stand in for lawyers. Lawmakers, meanwhile, are grappling with who should pay the price when chatbots produce bad legal advice. Read the full story on how AI is reshaping access to the law https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/06/04/1138391/courts-coping-ai-lawsuits/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C . —Michelle Kim How virtual power plants could provide energy for data centers Would you take a payment to ramp down your electricity use? Would it change anything if you were doing so to help power a local data center? A new project backed by Google will put those questions to the test. The company has signed a deal to fund a virtual power plant in the largest power grid in the US. The system will group together devices like electric vehicles and smart thermostats, paying customers to adjust their usage when the grid is stretched. The project could free up capacity for Google’s data centers—but there’s a catch: people might not play along. Find out what the future holds for these virtual power plants https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/06/03/1138350/virtual-power-plants-data-centers/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C . —Casey Crownhart This story is from The Spark, our weekly newsletter giving you the inside track on all things climate. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 The EU has proposed new legislation to end its Big Tech dependence The laws aim to boost domestic cloud, AI and semiconductors. CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/03/europe-tech-sovereignty-us-tech-reliance.html + US firms would be blocked from critical public tenders. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/business/eu-targets-big-tech-dependence-with-made-in-europe-drive-2026-06-03/ $ + It also wants to make sure non-EU actors cannot disrupt tech services with a "kill switch." The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/03/eu-commission-foreign-providers-kill-switch-disrupt-tech-europe + But the proposal needs to be negotiated with EU member states. Politico https://www.politico.eu/event/politico-pro-debrief-dissecting-the-eus-tech-sovereignty-package/ $ 2 Intelligence agencies warn Chinese spies are recruiting on LinkedIn The Five Eyes alliance said Beijing is using job platforms for espionage. BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq6peqrnzpro + The spies are allegedly recruiting government and military staff. Politico https://www.politico.eu/article/china-linkedin-five-eyes-spy-agencies-joint-warning-recruitment/ $ + The Chinese embassy in the UK condemned the accusations. Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-03/us-and-five-eyes-allies-warn-of-linkedin-china-spying-threat $ + Meet the man hunting the spies in your smartphone. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/24/1129294/ronald-deibert-citizen-lab-digital-threats-spies-cybersecurity/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C 3 AI CEOs have called for a law protecting against biological weapons They warn that synthetic DNA could be used for bioweapons. Wired https://www.wired.com/story/openai-anthropic-letter-ai-biological-weapons/ $ + Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, and Demis Hassabis joined the call. WSJ https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/top-ai-ceos-call-for-law-protecting-against-biological-weapons-88f2f99f?mod=tech lead pos1 $ + No one’s sure if synthetic mirror life will kill us all. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/15/1135197/synthetic-mirror-life-microbes-kill-us-all/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C 4 Firms are using Reddit to manipulate ChatGPT and Google AI search They’re spamming subreddits to get posts scraped by chatbots. 404 Media https://www.404media.co/companies-are-using-reddit-to-manipulate-chatgpt-and-google-ai-search/ + What we’ve been getting wrong about AI’s truth crisis . MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/02/02/1132068/what-weve-been-getting-wrong-about-ais-truth-crisis/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C 5 Meta keeps delaying the launch of its new AI model The new Muse Spark AI model API still has no release date. WSJ https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/meta-keeps-delaying-the-release-of-its-new-ai-model-to-developers-f8569c8c?mod=tech lead story $ + Which is hampering Meta’s plans to monetize its AI investments. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/technology/meta-repeatedly-pushes-back-new-ai-model-release-developers-wsj-says-2026-06-04/ $ 6 For the first time, a US city has voted to permanently ban data centers Monterey Park, California, voted in favor of the move. LA Times https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2026-06-03/in-first-for-country-voters-in-monterey-park-ban-data-centers + Should we be moving data centers to space? MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/03/03/1112758/should-we-be-moving-data-centers-to-space/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C 7 China is betting on household chore training to advance robotics Data harvested in homes and factories provides a scaling edge. Rest of World https://restofworld.org/2026/china-ai-robotics-training-data/ + Gig workers are training humanoids at home. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/04/01/1134863/humanoid-data-training-gig-economy-2026-breakthrough-technology/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C 8 Sam Altman will urge US lawmakers not to require AI model approvals He’s advocating against proposals for new AI rules. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/business/openais-altman-urge-us-lawmakers-not-require-ai-model-approvals-2026-06-03/%20It $ + His move comes after President Trump signed a new AI order. Wired https://www.wired.com/story/this-is-how-trump-finally-signed-the-ai-executive-order/ $ 9 Quantinuum raised $1.68 billion in an IPO as quantum computing rises Investors flocked to one of the fast-growing sector’s leaders. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/honeywells-quantinuum-raises-168-billion-us-ipo-quantum-computing-heats-up-2026-06-03/ $ 10 Someone finally wants to hire philosophers: Silicon Valley Big tech hopes they will help build better machines. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/06/ai-companies-hiring-philosophers/687417/?utm source=feed $ Quote of the day “Historically, these companies have been very willing to play Russian roulette—and they’re playing another round.” —Connor Leahy, an AI researcher, former hacker and US director of ControlAI, tells the Financial Times https://www.ft.com/content/e17665ea-c5ca-428a-839c-be5c1eacc35c why he’s concerned about Anthropic's relentless race to the top. One More Thing What an octopus’s mind can teach us about AI’s ultimate mystery What an octopus’s mind can teach us about AI’s ultimate mystery Emily Bender, a linguist at the University of Washington, has developed a thought experiment she calls the octopus test. It involves an octopus learning to copy patterns in human writing and produce squiggles in response. But does the animal actually understand the language or are we merely projecting meaning onto it? Bender’s octopus is a stand-in for AI systems like ChatGPT. The intelligence we see in these machines is also projected on them by us. The same applies to consciousness: we may claim to see it, but it remains unclear whether it is really there. Read the full story on the debate over machines with minds https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/25/1032111/conscious-ai-can-machines-think/?utm source=the download&utm medium=email&utm campaign=the download.unpaid.engagement&utm term= %7CSUBCLASS%7C &utm content= %7CDATE:m-d-Y%7C . —Will Douglas Heaven We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. Got any ideas? Drop me a line . + Discover where iconic sound effects actually came from in this fabulous audio history https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bkt6-iCbI0o . + Need a serotonin boost? Then tune into this live puppy cam from Denali National Park https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z ozTK1e W0 . + Linux lovers can try 570 extinct operating systems at a new virtual museum https://virtualosmuseum.org/ . + Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” becomes something entirely different in this lightning-fast bass guitar performance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbe cOKDTog& . Deep Dive The Download The Download: DeepSeek’s latest AI breakthrough, and the race to build world models Plus: China has blocked Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus. The Download: introducing the 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now Plus: An unauthorized group has reportedly accessed Anthropic’s Mythos. The Download: supercharged scams and studying AI healthcare Plus: DeepSeek has unveiled its long-awaited new AI model. The Download: keeping up with AI, and the future of IVF Plus: NASA unveiled plans for three uncrewed missions to the Moon this year. 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