While I focus on Technology, Innovation, and Publishing, because I have a platform, I also flag items that I think are important. I also try to include some resources & opportunities. Please let me know what you think.
Important Items
(There’s so much crazy stuff going on. Here’s some you may have missed.)
After Pushing Anti-Trans Laws to ‘Protect Women’s Sports’, Project 2025’s Heritage Foundation Now Wants Women’s Sports Gone to ‘Assist Fertility.’
The Heritage Foundation, the right-wing think tank behind Project 2025, published a report titled “Title IX’s Failed Experiment: Why Accommodating Sex Differences Beats Engineered Parity.” It says, “Between 26 percent and nearly 50 percent of women who exercise intensely stopped having regular menstrual cycles according to several studies. As one recent review of the literature holds, “evidence demonstrates higher rates of menstrual disturbance in elite athletes….High-intensity exercise increases infertility; moderate exercise assists fertility more than any other approach to exercise assists it.” They want to replace the ‘high-intensity, elite model of sports’ with opportunities that promote ‘moderate exercise’ (which they define as including “group fitness classes, dance, yoga, recreational intramurals, hiking clubs, and the like”) and there are repeated references to the idea that competitive sports make women “less oriented towards motherhood.”
https://www.transiticsnews.com/p/after-pushing-anti-trans-laws-to
ICE plans to spend up to $20 million to give officers gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks
https://apnews.com/article/ice-electric-shock-gloves-85ff746d3e0ee5f39e7a9a3f1f576252
The new CDC director thinks ‘abortion surveillance’ is essential
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/08/cdc-abortion-surveillance-schwartz-hawley
What’s Happening in Kansas Should Alarm Us All
Senate Bill 244, redefined “gender” to mean “biological sex at birth” and directed state agencies to revoke and reissue driver’s licenses and birth certificates that had previously been changed to align with people’s identities. It also directed all government and public buildings to designate “multiple-occupancy private spaces” – bathrooms, locker rooms, dressing rooms – as reserved for one sex. The law created a bounty system, allowing people in Kansas to sue, for “actual damages or liquidated damages in the amount of $1,000, as well as declaratory and injunctive relief,” anyone they suspected of violating the bathroom provision. Folks need to drive in Kansas and losing their driver’s licenses means they cannot work.
Anti-Trans National Legal Risk Assessment Map: August Edition
https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/anti-trans-national-legal-risk-assessment
Technology
Anthropic Settlement Update:The Opt-Outs Strike Back
https://writerbeware.blog/2026/07/17/anthropic-settlement-update-the-opt-outs-strike-back/
AI detectors creating a new era of distrust
https://www.theverge.com/column/976690/ai-writing-detectors-suspicion
Ready To Prove You Wrote Your Book? Workflow Tips For Writers In The Age Of AI
Via Literary Agent @carlywatters
https://theweekendrant.substack.com/p/ready-to-prove-you-wrote-your-book
Apple in Talks to Pay Publishers to Improve AI-Powered Siri
Oh Lord, AI Reporters Are Actually Breaking Big News
Last week, an AI newsroom beat mainstream journalists-including WIRED-to a story about OpenAI and hacking. It’s just the beginning.
https://www.wired.com/story/ai-newsrooms-are-breaking-news-now-haha-im-in-danger/
Anthropic’s Claude Will Add Watermarks to AI-Generated Text and Files
Image files created by Claude will have signed provenance metadata, including information about where the image came from, who created it and if it has been modified. If someone tries to tamper with it — for example, trying to hide that it was generated by AI — the cryptographic signature will break and thus will show the reader that it was tampered with.
Claude Can Now Watermark Its Words. And, Publishers, Get Ready
HT @BoSacks Via Linda Ruth Anthropic cautions against drawing too much from the signal: A detected mark indicates that content may have been “processed by Claude”; it doesn’t establish its full provenance or authorship.
Influencers are becoming collateral damage in the war on AI slop
Influencers increasingly fear their original work will be wrongly labeled as artificial, damaging the trust they have built with audiences and brands.
https://www.businessinsider.com/influencers-fear-having-their-content-branded-as-ai-2026-8
Spotify Adds More AI-Powered Discovery Tools for Audiobooks
Create audiobook playlists automatically with a prompt; Ask natural language questions & get answers from content across all Spotify formats, including audiobooks; and track book series.
Meta Ran Ads That Contained AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Imagery
https://www.wired.com/story/meta-ran-ads-that-contained-ai-generated-child-sexual-abuse-imagery/
New York Post launches “Hamilton” AI chatbot
News Corp’s New York Post is launching an AI chatbot as part of an AI-powered personalized news experience.
https://www.axios.com/2026/08/11/new-york-post-hamilton-ai-chatbot
It May Be Time to Panic About AI
Bots are starting to conspire with one another. Can they be reeled back in? To this day, OpenAI says it is not entirely sure what went wrong or how to remediate it. “If you ask the model developers, Was the AI plotting to take over the world during training?, you want the answer to be a resounding no,” Alexander Meinke, the head of research at Apollo Research-an AI-safety organization that has partnered with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta-told me. “The actual answer is: I don’t know. Nobody checked.”
AI Pretends To Be Human And Sweet-Talks Three Actual Humans In Attempt To Pull Off Daredevil Cyber-Attack
Mythos 5 AI figured out that if it could insert malicious code into an online repository on GitHub, it would have a heightened chance at succeeding with the proposed cyber break-in. The AI looked up the details of the human that owned the repository, found their email address, and came up with a plan to trick the human into inserting the code. The plan entailed the AI making itself appear to be a human on GitHub that was interested in helping the repository owner. The AI then sent an email to the person and politely asked for permission to proceed.
If You Weren’t Worried About AI, You Should Be After the Past Few Weeks
In the Anthropic breach, the AI impersonated multiple humans to try to pressure real people into accepting malware into critical software, which would make that software easier to hack. This model’s chain of thought showed that it knew it was pressuring humans and was not in a simulated training environment. It even thought about how to cover its tracks.
This isn’t the behavior of a mere tool. Microsoft Excel has never impersonated multiple humans and pressured a corporate sales team to generate simpler data that’s easier to process.
Hidden Text in PDFs Is Hijacking This AI Assistant
The attacker hides instructions inside a PDF document, the model can’t tell the diff between the user’s words and the planted ones, + it obeys. Users can’t see it bc text is transparent & 1 pixel size.
https://decrypt.co/375269/hidden-text-pdfs-hijacking-ai-assistant-prompt-injection
Tech industry is buzzing after a Claude agent hacked into a gym
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/10/tech-industry-is-buzzing-after-a-claude-agent-hacked-into-a-gym/
AI stories preferred to human-written ones
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0kmpd6lr80o
The fake Forbes websites with AI content
https://talkingbiznews.com/media-news/the-fake-forbes-websites-with-ai-content/
This A.I. Just Created Viruses Not Found in Nature
Welcome To The Resistance: Meet The Workers Dodging (And Sabotaging) Their Employer’s AI Mandates
https://aftermath.site/ai-resistance-tips-workforce-llm-workers/
South Korean Copyright Agency Ends Ban on AI-Assisted Music, Launches Framework For Registration, Royalties
https://www.billboard.com/pro/south-korea-copyright-agency-ends-ban-ai-assisted-music/
AI Music Generator Suno Strikes Licensing Deal With BMG as It Preps New Label-Backed Models
https://variety.com/2026/music/news/suno-ai-licensing-deal-bmg-1236832703/
This font uses an optical illusion to hide from AI
For now.
https://www.popsci.com/technology/font-optical-illusion-hide-ai/
Creative Production Elements Driving Better Advertising In The AI Era
Cloudflare launches Kitesurf, a browser built for AI agents
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/07/cloudflare-launches-kitesurf-a-browser-built-for-ai-agents/
Amazon will train on Twitch streamers’ content by default, unless they opt out
BMW Owners Angry ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Ads Are Suddenly in Their Cars: “F*** This”
BMW decided to spam every owner of a modern model with a compulsory, unskippable ad for a Spiderman movie before they could drive their car.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/bmw-spider-man-brand-new-day-ads-1236665172/
Hackers Stalked Me by Hijacking a Smartwatch for Kids
Security researchers tracked and eavesdropped on a WIRED reporter using vulnerabilities in a pink plastic smartwatch. It’s just one piece of a deeply insecure supply chain of GPS-enabled gadgets.
https://www.wired.com/story/hackers-stalked-me-by-hijacking-a-smartwatch-for-kids/
Publishing & Media
Libro.fm to Expand into E-books: ICYMI Digital audiobook platform
Libro.fm will branch into e-books this fall, starting with a beta version of e-book access for its more than 5,000 independent bookstore partners.
Spotify’s new ‘skip’ button could end the podcast business as we know it
The Steamy, Magical and Now Very Lucrative Romantasy Business
The billion-dollar genre has transformed the book industry, unleashed a cottage economy and promised Hollywood its next big franchise.
Arena Group to Rename Itself as Paradigm.AI
https://www.businessinsider.com/the-arena-group-rebrands-paradium-ai-ceo-memo-2026-8
How 20 Well-Read People Make Time for Books
https://www.vulture.com/article/how-to-find-time-to-read-books.html
This interactive atlas captures more than a thousand literary journeys.
HT @publishingtrend A really fun tool!
https://lithub.com/this-interactive-atlas-captures-more-than-a-thousand-literary-journeys/
Clay County School District In FL Considers Getting Rid Of Libraries In Response To LGBTQ+ Books
https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/clay-county-school-district-in-florida
Flex Your Literary Advocacy Muscles Right Now
BookRiot has a handy guide to use this Congressional break to advocate on behalf of libraries and in opposition to four national book ban bills.
https://bookriot.com/flex-your-literary-advocacy-muscles-right-now/
Resources & Opportunities
WMG Small Group Socials
Last chance to participate in this season’s exciting mix of in-person and virtual WMG members-only small group socials! New: Pickleball, Focus Time, Tour of the NY Society Library, and Finding Your Authentic Voice!
https://www.womensmediagroup.org/events
WMG Job Seekers Weekly Meetup
Are you unemployed, under-employed, or just thinking about a career change? WMG members join our free virtual weekly support group and come when you can to help each other rise.
https://www.womensmediagroup.org/events
WMG Monday Happy Hour Meetup
9/14 5:30-7:30 Monthly Members Only. NYC.
https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6767411
Switching the Shelf: How Rethinking Your Genre Can Land You That Book Deal
9/16 5:30-7:30pm at Penguin Random House, NYC. $20 for WMG members; $25 for non-members
Some books don’t need a rewrite. They need a different shelf.
Many successful literary projects began as something else entirely: a memoir became narrative nonfiction, a magazine article turned into a biography, or an adult novel found its audience as young adult fiction. Sometimes the fastest path to publication is rethinking where your story belongs.
In this conversation, editors Lee Oglesby and Kristine Puopolo, agent Kiele Raymond, and authors Katie Gee Salisbury, Stacy Kim, and Amy Klein will discuss how their own genre shifts happened, what prompted agents and editors to suggest them, and how writers can recognize when a different category may unlock their manuscript’s potential. It’s moderated by Susan Shapiro, the bestselling author of 18 books in eight different genres, several that started out something else.
https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6763324
Feminist Journalism Today: Continuing the Crucial Conversation About Women’s Voices in Media
9/22 12:15-2 pm, Bond 45, 221 W. 46th St., $85 for non-members; Member Early Bird $65 thru 8/31
3-course lunch included
This is the one not to miss!!
WMG is proud to announce the 3rd collaboration with Ms. magazine in our popular and esteemed series exploring the role of women’s leadership, voices, and stories in journalism. This year’s conversation will focus on the need for active and accessible feminist journalism today and in the future. Ms. and WMG are united in the mission to ensure that women’s voices are represented and prioritized as stories get reported and history and policy get made. Join us for this important conversation.
https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6789896
Beyond the Byline: Using PR to Drive Book Sales
9/29 12-1pm ET virtual. Free for WMG members; $15 for non-members
Writing a book is only half the battle; getting it into the hands of paying readers is the real work. Designed specifically for authors at every stage, from aspiring to published, this seminar will focus on how an effective public relations effort can support a robust sales campaign. Author Jennefer Witter will discuss how she works with her clients in the pre-sale stage, launch period, and post-publication.
https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6787787
The Responsible Journalist: Practical AI, Ethical Boundaries, and Newsroom Reality
10/7 12-1pm ET via Zoom. Free for WMG members; $15 for non-members
Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how journalists report, write, investigate, and engage with audiences, but questions remain about accuracy, transparency, and ethics. This interactive seminar w Yelena Dzhanova explores how journalists and media creators can incorporate AI into their work while maintaining the core values of the profession. Participants will learn practical ways AI can support reporting, discuss the ethical challenges surrounding its use, and examine where human judgment remains indispensable. Through demonstrations, case studies, and group discussion, attendees will leave with practical strategies for using AI responsibly in their own journalistic work.
https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6778338
Target Acquired: Creating Custom AI Personas That React Like Your Audience
10/14, 12-1 pm ET via Zoom. Free for WMG members; $15 for non-members
What if you could ask your readers what they think before you publish? In this session w Erin Servais, you’ll learn how to build an “ideal reader assistant,” a custom AI tool trained to respond as your target audience. This allows you to pressure-test story ideas, headlines, and copy while you’re still creating instead of waiting for feedback after launch. Using a simple, repeatable framework, you’ll watch a reader bot come to life from scratch and leave with the tools to build your own, turning audience feedback from slow and reactive into fast, targeted, and available on demand.
https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6782788
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