➤ How AI Drives Up Prices: Recent research shows how AI-driven pricing algorithms may raise consumer prices by enabling firms to anticipate or respond to competitors’ pricing behavior in ways that mimic coordinated action. These systems can learn market patterns, detect competitors’ price movements, and adjust prices in parallel, potentially resulting in higher overall prices even without explicit agreements between companies. A recent article, along with its accompanying research paper, provides a clear explanation of these antitrust concerns.

➤ Five AI Bills Awaiting Governor Hochul’s Signature: Five AI-related bills now sit on Governor Hochul’s desk, each requiring approval or veto by January. They include: (1) the Responsible AI Safety and Education (RAISE) Act (S.6953-B/A.6453-B); (2) a bill requiring warning labels for certain social media platforms (S.4505/A.5346); (3) the Synthetic Performers Act (S.8420-A/A.8887-B), requiring disclosures when AI-generated human-like performers are used in advertising; (4) a significant expansion of New York’s right of publicity statute (S.8391/A.8882); and (5) the LOADinG Act (S.7599-C/A.8295-D), which increases legislative oversight of automated decision-making in government. A helpful summary is available here.

➤ Judges Acknowledge Improper AI Use: Senator Chuck Grassley recently sent inquiries to two federal judges regarding AI-generated content appearing in judicial orders. Both judges have now responded. Judge Neals (D.N.J.) attributed the issue to a law school intern who used ChatGPT without proper oversight, while Judge Wingate (S.D. Miss.) explained that a draft prepared by a law clerk using Perplexity was inadvertently uploaded in the electronic filing system.

➤ Reddit Files a Second Lawsuit Over Data Scraping: Reddit’s June lawsuit against Anthropic (the creator of Claude), Reddit, Inc. v. Anthropic PBC, No. 3:25-cv-05643-TLT (N.D. Cal.), alleges that Anthropic directly scraped Reddit content in violation of Reddit’s user agreement. Reddit has now filed a second suit in the Southern District of New York, Reddit, Inc. v. Serapi LLC et al., No. 1:25-cv-08736-PAE, targeting Perplexity and associated data-mining entities. Although the alleged harm is similar, the legal theories diverge: the Anthropic case involves direct scraping, while the Serapi case involves indirect scraping through Google search results, leading to claims tied to the DMCA and other federal statutes. This distinction illustrates how the method of data acquisition shapes the causes of action in AI-related litigation.

➤ New Privacy Lawsuit Filed by a Minor: In Doe v. AI/Robotics Venture Strategy 3 Ltd. d/b/a Clothoff, No. 2:25-cv-16671-ES-JBC (D.N.J. Oct. 16, 2025), a 17-year-old plaintiff sued the developer of an AI tool capable of removing clothing from images of individuals. Notably, the complaint includes a strict product liability claim, echoing an emerging trend seen in prior “chatbot suicide” cases.