Consumer Protection

October 25, 2026

When Risks Converge: Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Economic Instability, and the Challenge of Institutional and Personal Resilience

An Overview and Analysis of Jim VandeHei’s Two-Part Axios Commentary

Introduction

In an October 25, 2026, commentary published by Axios, CEO and co-founder Jim VandeHei raises concerns about the convergence of technological, economic, geopolitical, and political risks that could produce unprecedented disruptions over the next several years. Writing in his weekly Axios C-Suite newsletter, VandeHei argues that the danger lies not simply in any one potential crisis, but in the possibility that multiple crises could occur in rapid succession, reinforcing one another before institutions and individuals have sufficient time to respond. His two-part discussion, addressing both the emergence of these risks and practical steps for preparing for them, offers a useful framework for considering the responsibilities of governments, businesses, information professionals, and individual citizens in an increasingly unpredictable world.

October 11, 2026

AI Chatbots at the Tipping Point: Promising Research and its Implications for Librarians and Other Researchers

by David Badertscher

Promising results suggest a potentially groundbreaking approach to predicting undesirable AI behavior, but limited experimental testing calls for further independent verification.

Introduction

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into professional practice, education, government, healthcare, and everyday life, questions concerning the reliability and safety of AI-generated responses have taken on growing importance. A particularly troubling possibility is that an AI chatbot may initially provide appropriate, useful, and accurate information, only to begin producing potentially harmful responses as a conversation progresses.

May 12, 2026

CBO’s Baseline Projections of Federal Subsidies for Health Insurance

by David Badertscher

A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) presentation by Phill Swagel, Sean Dunbar, Sarah Masi, and Sarah Sajewski on May 11, 2026

SUMMARY:

“This presentation describes CBO’s February 2026 projections of federal subsidies for health insurance, with a focus on Medicare, Medicaid, and premium tax credits. Projected enrollments in those and other programs are discussed, as are the factors that prompted changes to CBO’s projections since January 2025.”

May 8, 2026

Your Conversations With AI May Not be as Private as You Think: An Overview

by David Badertscher

The complete article “Your Conversations With AI May Not Be as Private as You Think,” published by Tech Xplore* in May 2026, reports on a study conducted by researchers at the IMDEA Networks Institute examining the privacy practices of leading generative AI platforms, including ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, and Perplexity AI. The researchers found that some AI systems incorporate tracking technologies associated with major technology companies such as Meta, Google, and TikTok, raising concerns about the extent to which user interactions may be monitored or shared with third-party analytics and advertising ecosystems. The following is an overview of the article:

According to the article, the study revealed significant variation in how AI services manage user privacy. While some platforms appeared to limit external tracking mechanisms, others transmitted metadata and usage information that could potentially be used to profile users or monitor behavioral patterns. The researchers emphasized that the concern is not necessarily that full conversations are publicly exposed, but rather that background data collection practices may operate in ways users neither expect nor fully understand.

The article also highlights the growing tendency of users to discuss highly personal, financial, medical, professional, and legal matters with AI systems. In light of this trend, the researchers caution against assuming that conversations with AI platforms are protected by the same confidentiality standards that apply to communications with lawyers, physicians, therapists, or other privileged professionals.

December 13, 2025

How Secure are Private Records Held by Major Credit Bureaus?

by David Badertscher

Introduction.

The “big three” credit reporting companies, TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian, hold highly sensitive consumer financial data that can affect people’s access to credit, housing, employment, and insurance. Their data security posture depends not only on resisting large-scale hacking events, but also on preventing “low-tech” account takeovers that exploit customer service processes.

This post is based on Shira Ovide’s article, “It Wasn’t Hard to Highjack Trans Union Credit Reports, I Did it Myself. published in Tech Friend , a publication of the The Washington Post on December 12. 2025. In her article, drawing on months of testing by the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), Ovide describes a vulnerability in TransUnion’s customer service hotline that allegedly allowed callers, with minimal identity proof, to reset passwords and change account contact information, potentially enabling account takeover and unauthorized access to credit report details. TransUnion reported that it updated protocols after being contacted, and PIRG later found that additional verification was requested in most retests.