0:13
Lawsuit claims Meta's layoff decisions were made by AI, not humans
A lawsuit's been filed against Meta, claiming that their AI tools played a significant role in selecting employees for the recent layoffs. The 26 plaintiffs, who were among the 8,000 employees let go, say that Meta's internal AI systems, including one called Metamate, were used to score and rank employees for termination. These AI tools allegedly looked at how often employees used Meta's AI tools, with those who were more frequent users being ranked higher. The lawsuit also claims that employees who took protected medical or family leaves, or had disabilities, were disproportionately targeted for layoffs. A meta-analysis of previous studies on AI-driven layoffs isn't available, but this is one of the first cases to specifically highlight the potential biases in AI decision-making.
1:12
Lawsuit claims Meta's layoff decisions were made by AI, not humans
Meta's AI-fueled layoffs of 8,000 employees targeted workers with disabilities and those who took protected medical or family leaves, alleged a lawsuit filed by 26 employees who were selected for termination. Meta used internal AI tools to select employees for layoffs, according to the complaint filed yesterday by 26 "Doe" plaintiffs in US District Court for the Northern District of California.
"Meta did not assemble the termination list through the considered judgment of managers who knew the work. Instead, Meta used a constellation of internal artificial-intelligence systems—including a system referred to internally as 'Metamate,' employee-trained 'second-brain' agents, keystroke- and activity-monitoring data, AI-token-usage dashboards, and algorithmically assisted performance ranking and calibration—to score, rank, and select employees for inclusion on the list," the lawsuit said.
Employees were allegedly graded, among other things, on how much they used Meta's AI tools. "Meta’s internal dashboards classified employees by their stage of adoption of its artificial-intelligence tools, using categories such as 'AI Native,' 'AI First,' and 'AI Enabled,'" the lawsuit said.
2:38
Lawsuit Claims Meta's Layoff Decisions Were Made By AI, Not Humans
A lawsuit from 26 Meta employees alleges the company used AI-driven scoring and monitoring systems to select workers for layoffs, disproportionately targeting employees with disabilities or those who had taken protected medical, family, pregnancy, or parental leave. "Meta did not assemble the termination list through the considered judgment of managers who knew the work. Instead, Meta used a constellation of internal artificial-intelligence systems -- including a system referred to internally as 'Metamate,' employee-trained 'second-brain' agents, keystroke- and activity-monitoring data, AI-token-usage dashboards, and algorithmically assisted performance ranking and calibration -- to score, rank, and select employees for inclusion on the list," the lawsuit (PDF) said. Ars Technica reports: Employees were allegedly graded, among other things, on how much they used Meta's AI tools. "Meta's internal dashboards classified employees by their stage of adoption of its artificial-intelligence tools, using categories such as 'AI Native,' 'AI First,' and 'AI Enabled,'" the lawsuit said. The lawsuit is apparently "the first against a major U.S. company to challenge the alleged use of AI in conducting layoffs," according to Reuters. The complaint alleges that Meta's tools for monitoring employees did not account for differences caused by disabilities and protected leaves. "Those tools draw on inputs -- performance ratings, calibration scores, productivity and output metrics, 'AI-native' ratings, and AI-token consumption -- that, by design, cannot be accumulated by an employee who is on protected medical or family leave, or whose output is reduced by a disability," the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit alleged that Meta management did not take steps to adjust scores for employees who took leave or who requested reasonable accommodations for disabilities. "Meta did not neutralize those inputs for protected leave; did not exclude protected-leave-takers or accommodation-seekers from the selection cohort; and did not pause the system for the individualized, leave- and accommodation-neutral review that the law requires," the complaint alleged. "The result was that employees who took protected leaves were disproportionately selected for layoff, based on scoring that not only failed to account for their protected leaves, but in effect penalized the employees for exercising their legal rights to these leaves." The 26 plaintiffs requested leaves or disability accommodations in the 24 months before being selected for layoffs, the lawsuit said. The layoffs are not yet finalized, but employees are scheduled to start losing their jobs on July 22, the lawsuit said. "These claims lack merit and are not based on facts," said Meta in a statement. "Workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
2:38
New York Becomes First State To Enact One Year Ban On New Data Centers
The blowback against data centers escalated this morning, when New York became first state in the nation to enact a moratorium on data centers, pausing construction on new facilities for one year.
An executive order by Gov. Kathy Hochul bans state lawmakers from approving environmental permits for hyperscale data centers. Hochul said Tuesday the pause will give lawmakers time to create a framework to protect residents and the environment.
"Massive data centers are being built across our state and our country. The scale and speed of this development has put unprecedented demand on energy and water resources, and threatens to drive up utility costs. Before it goes any further, I need safeguards in place to protect New Yorkers," Hochul said in a social media post.
AI data centers, which contain thousands of servers and typically use 50 or more megawatts of power to operate, have been blamed for everything from noise pollution to sending regional electricity prices soaring. They also require a steady supply of water to keep cool.
Hochul said the state still welcomes AI investments and businesses, and looks forward to helping them grow and thrive.
"But when you benefit from the talent and energy of New York, we expect you to protect our resources and give back to our communities," Hochul said.
New York will lead in responsible innovation while protecting families and communities.
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) July 14, 2026
Today, I’m signing a first-in-the-nation Executive Order to hit pause and set the rules for AI data centers.
Join me live: https://t.co/5T2eFyoc7m
The order comes as the state is experiencing unprecedented growth in the demand for data center development driven by AI and other computing operations, according to the governor's office. The data centers require "millions of gallons of water, draining the local supply."
"The bottom line is progress shouldn't arrive with a higher utility bill, depleted water supplies, or noise pollution. So we have no choice but to address these challenges created by these massive facilities," Hochul said.
Hochul said New York will require data centers to either produce their own energy or pay a premium for accessing New York's grid. Hochul also said she opposes any tax subsidies for AI data centers as well.
The Department of Public Service will create the guidelines for centers to ensure new facilities meet consistent standards.
Hochul said the process will take up to a year, prompting the moratorium. Once state officials finalize the standards, the ban will be lifted.
Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand applauded the move: "This one-year moratorium is fundamentally about trust. Right now, New Yorkers aren't convinced these massive facilities benefit them. Before we move forward, our communities need ironclad guarantees that their energy bills won't spike, their water will be protected, and their air will remain clean," Gillibrand said.
Gillibrand described the need for federal action regarding AI as well: "That requires establishing clear, reliable rules of the road. We must build a framework that protects our kids from harmful algorithms and social media tools; shields seniors and consumers from AI-driven scams and fraud; and safeguards American jobs and livelihoods from displacement."
"It kills good-paying union jobs"
Not everyone is pleased with the moratorium.
"A shortsighted moratorium only accomplishes one thing: it kills good-paying union jobs. Rather than implementing guardrails to build the future of American ingenuity, Governor Hochul is taking her ball and going home. We urge the governor to work with all parties, including the hardworking New Yorkers whose jobs are at stake, to implement common sense guardrails," United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters general president Mark McManus said.
The Associated General Contractors of New York State also objected to the moratorium, calling it "the wrong policy for New York."
"Halting permits for as much as a year in this fast-moving sector will not simply delay projects—it will send them permanently to Virginia, Texas, Georgia and other states actively competing for these investments and the construction and other jobs that come with them. Once a developer breaks ground somewhere else, that project—and the opportunities and tax revenue that come with it—are not coming back," AGS NYS president and CEO Mike Elmendorf said. "Data center construction is the strongest-performing segment in an otherwise uncertain construction market nationwide, and New York's construction industry—which still has not recovered to pre-pandemic employment levels—cannot afford to forfeit it."
Elmendorf called the moratorium a "de facto ban that tells the marketplace New York is closed for business."
Meanwhile, PA senator John Fetterman, snubbed the NY decision by simply stating "China wins."
China wins. 🇨🇳 pic.twitter.com/tTiMwxPNaq
— U.S.
4:30
These painted e-tattoos could be the future of wearable biosensors
Pennsylvania State University scientists have created a new conductive ink that can be painted onto the skin in custom designs. This ink dries into a functional electrode for biomonitoring, similar to epidermal electronics or e-tattoos. However, these e-tattoos have limitations, such as not working well on curved or hairy surfaces, and requiring personalized placement for larger areas. The new ink addresses these issues by being flexible and able to conform to different skin types. This technology could lead to more widespread use of wearable biosensors, potentially enabling mobile EEG monitoring outside of clinical settings.
5:20
New York becomes first state to halt datacenter buildouts
New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday paused incomplete state environmental permit applications for large datacenters while officials work out new rules, a process expected to take up to a year. The order makes New York the first state to enact such a moratorium amid growing concerns over AI datacenters' impact on utility rates and public health. “New York has always been at the forefront of innovation and change but we’ve also always guaranteed that New Yorkers benefit. As data center development threatens to hike up utility bills, deplete our natural resources, and create uncertainty for New Yorkers, it’s my responsibility to take action and lead,” Hochul said in a canned statement. The order specifically targets large hyperscale datacenters capable of consuming at least 50 MW, subject to exemptions for manufacturing, research, education, and medical facilities. Prior to the AI boom, 50 megawatts would have been considered a large cloud campus. While datacenter campuses now often demand gigawatts of power, the moratorium doesn't preclude all AI bit barns. Fifty megawatts is still enough power for roughly 20,000-30,000 modern GPUs. The moratorium won’t last and is instead aimed at providing state officials time to develop and enact rules designed to ensure large-scale buildouts don't hurt New Yorkers. The portable generator units used while bit barn builders wait for grid connections and improvements have come under fire due to their impact on air quality. Elon Musk's Colossus 2 DC is now facing legal challenges over alleged Clean Air Act violations tied to the use of these generators. Over the next year, the executive order directs New York's Department of Public Service (DPS) to develop a generic environmental impact statement (GEIS). Officials will use this to evaluate proposed datacenter projects' environmental, public health, and grid impacts. The order directs the state's economic development agency, Empire State Development, to develop a framework to help local communities negotiate benefits like infrastructure improvements or financial support for community programs in exchange for letting bit barns in their backyards. Finally, DPS will consider establishing a fund that datacenter operators may be required to pay into, including a possible insurance pool to protect ratepayers from stranded grid costs tied to projects that are delayed, scaled back, or never materialize. The effect of datacenters on utility bills has become a national issue as several US states launched an inquiry into why, despite claims to the contrary, ratepayers are still paying more. US President Donald Trump isn’t keen on AI infrastructure making life more expensive for voters either — at least not any more than his infatuation with tariffs and the US war with Iran already have. In January, the president demanded Big Tech take responsibility for the power their datacenters consume. Alongside the moratorium, Hochul has promised legislation to end sales tax exemptions for datacenter. New York isn't the first to pursue a moratorium on new datacenters. Earlier this year, Maine became the first to pass a statewide moratorium on new bit barns, only for the measure to be vetoed by Governor Janet Mills. Going forward, New York's moratorium may now serve as a blueprint for other states to push back against the spread of datacenters. Having said that, capping datacenter campuses at 50 megawatts may not stop developers from pursuing multiple smaller sites across the state. While massive datacenters are needed to train frontier models, once they have been trained, those models can be served by much smaller facilities. There is also the potential for multiple smaller, but physically disparate datacenters to be stitched together using high speed, low latency interconnects like Nvidia’s Spectrum-XGS switches. These devices are designed exactly for this purpose. ®
6:07
E Jean Carroll receives $5.6 million in sexual abuse case after years-long legal battle with Trump
Writer E. Jean Carroll has received over $5.6 million in damages awarded in her civil case against US President Donald Trump after a federal court released funds held in escrow during the appeals process. The payment follows the US Supreme Court's decision to let the 2023 verdict stand. Trump continues to challenge the ruling and has filed further appeals.
6:39
E. Jean Carroll receives $5.63 million owed by Trump in sex abuse case
NEW YORK, July 14 - The writer E. Jean Carroll has collected nearly $5.63 million from Donald Trump after a jury in 2023 found the U.S. president liable for sexually abusing and defaming her, court records show.
6:39
E. Jean Carroll receives $5.62 million sex abuse, defamation payment from Trump
So, I just got word that E. Jean Carroll's received $5.62 million from Trump, finally, after a three-year wait. A jury had already found Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming Carroll back in 2022. Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, confirmed that the payout's been made, and it's for the full amount the jury awarded. This comes after Trump had initially refused to pay, claiming he was immune from liability.
6:39
New York becomes first state to halt approvals for large data centers, with crypto mining caught in the crossfire
New York's moratorium on large data centers may set a precedent, influencing other states to adopt similar measures, impacting energy policies.
The post New York becomes first state to halt approvals for large data centers, with crypto mining caught in the crossfire appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
