Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 13h

If you complete the maze without taking any shortcuts, they give you sticker. Apparently, it’s the largest hedge maze in North America. Who knew?

A hand holds a colorful sticker from the Big Green Monster Maze at Honey Pot Hill Orchards. The sticker shows a cartoon bear in a red shirt peeking out from between tall green hedges, accompanied by the punny caption: “I couldn’t BEAR it, so I got out.” The bottom text reads “Largest hedgemaze in North America – Honey Pot Hill Orchards.” The sticker’s design uses bold green and white lettering on a dark background, playfully celebrating the experience of navigating — and escaping — the giant hedge maze.

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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 16h

We’re heading in.

A panoramic view of a large hedge maze surrounded by autumn trees under an overcast sky. The neatly trimmed green hedges twist and wind in complex patterns, their tops lightly dusted with fallen pine needles. In the foreground, a few people can be seen navigating the narrow paths, while in the distance others stand on a raised wooden platform overlooking the labyrinth. The surrounding forest shows early fall color—reds, oranges, and yellows just beginning to emerge among the greens.

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Reposted by David Colarusso

David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 1d

I was on one of @abovethelaw.com's podcasts talking about AI & the Law. Please listen to the whole thing before yelling at me.

TL;DR: If you're on the AI Hype Train™, I'll try to derail you & talk about the dangers of "AI," but if you dismiss their benefits, I'll point out some pro-social uses.

Stay of Execution: AI May Not Kill Us All, But It Will Change Legal Practice & Legal Education Like Nothing Else Before It with David Colarusso — Adventures In Legal Tech

I spoke with a lawyer, developer, educator & data scientist about how AI is disrupting law practice & legal education. Episode Highlights 03:33 - AI revolution challenge for law firms. 05:57 - What is...

overcast.fm

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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 1d

The kids are playing a game. One is saying that the other is under arrest, and the one in custody is saying, “I won’t talk without my attorney.” At this moment I’m a very proud parent/former public defender.

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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 1d

Look at that. The media team sent me this snazzy promo image and some links. Anywho, if you're looking for something to listen to on your commute home, or over the weekend while doing dishes, you could do worse:

Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/3wgtF6v...

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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 1d

Give "us A follow" darn you lack of Edit button. Darn you!

David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 1d

Look at that. @suffolklitlab.org just hit 900 followers! Go team! You really should give us follow if you don't already. ;)

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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 1d

High marks for being the first time I saw someone make this observation.

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Reposted by David Colarusso

Sarah Fackrell @design-law.bsky.social · 1d

Bravo, MIT!

Timothy Hyde @hydetimothy.bsky.social · 1d

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/10/b...

MIT becomes first school to reject proposed ‘compact’ with Trump administration - The Boston Globe

MIT president Sally Kornbluth said the university’s practices already “meet or exceed” the federal government’s list of demands.

www.bostonglobe.com

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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 1d

A few post up the thread, "prat of my AI & the Law course." It was "part," "prat of my AI & the Law course." When will be get an edit button? When!?

a bald man is wearing a red sweater with a star trek logo on it

Alt: Captian Picard doing a facepalm

media.tenor.com

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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 1d

Also on the cutting room floor: a few of my observations about how wildly wrong LLMs can be, but I think all told it was a pretty good reflection of the conversation. If you want to know more about my work, see suffolklitlab.org If any of the above sounds interesting, give the pod a listen & share.

Suffolk Law School's Legal Information & Technology Lab (LIT Lab)

The LIT Lab at Suffolk University Law School is an experiential learning program where students participate in an R&D consultancy on legal tech and data science issues.

suffolklitlab.org

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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 1d

Some of the edits are a little rough (they had to trim off my endless rambling), for example it wasn't entirely clear that "this is coming from someone who no longer eats [mammals to cut down on my CO₂ footprint]." For more on that, you might want to check out this piece. Deeplink to CO₂ section.

Protective randomness: why we fear the AI unknown and what to do about it — Suffolk LIT Lab

Why people resist the change promised/threatened by AI and what one can do to prepare for the unknown.

suffolklitlab.org

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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 1d

Looking for more on the dangers of AI & bias? Here's more on that. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw3c...

Portland’s Precrime Experiment and the Limits of Algorithms

YouTube video by dcolarusso

www.youtube.com

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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 1d

And if you were curious about that tool I mentioned (that lets you write and reuse prompts on web content), here are the 50 exercise I have my students work through. sadlynothavocdinosaur.com/posts/50-day...

50 Days of LIT Prompts | Sadly Not, Havoc Dinosaur

Every weekday for the next 10 weeks, I'll update this page with new prompt patterns and invite folks to play with them inside LIT Prompts. We'll be plugging into the technology that runs tools like Ch...

sadlynothavocdinosaur.com

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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 1d

Anywho, we cover a lot of ground, including how we turn legal cases into tabletop role playing games as prat of my AI & the Law course. lawrpg.org It was a fun conversation. You should give it a listen.

Law RPG: Turning legal cases in to tabletop role-playing games

In role-playing games (RPGs) players assume the roles of characters in a simulated world. Not just anything goes, however. Outcomes are shaped by structure & rules, the result of a player's actions in...

lawrpg.org

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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 1d

Wait, did #StarTrek really deal with deepfakes 30 years ago? Yes. Yes they did. For your consideration:

Dr. Brahms standing next to a holographic copy of herself.

BRAHMS: How dare you use me like this? How far did it go anyway? Was it good for you?

LA FORGE: Nothing like that happened.

This image is from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Galaxy’s Child.” It features a dramatic confrontation between the real Dr. Leah Brahms (in the foreground, wearing a purple uniform and visibly upset) and Geordi La Forge, who is seen from behind in his Starfleet uniform and VISOR. Standing off to the side is the computer-generated version of Dr. Brahms, dressed in green, arms crossed and expression neutral. The setting is a Starfleet engineering lab aboard the Enterprise, with LCARS computer interfaces in the background. The subtitle reads, “How dare you use me like this?”—a pivotal moment in the episode where the real Dr. Brahms discovers that Geordi previously interacted with a holographic version of her.

This image is also from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Galaxy’s Child.” It captures a tense moment in Engineering where the real Dr. Leah Brahms, dressed in a purple outfit, confronts Geordi La Forge after discovering he had previously interacted with a holodeck simulation of her. She stands with a pointed, incredulous expression, one hand gesturing outward, and the subtitle reads, “How far did it go anyway?”—highlighting her shock and hurt. Behind her stands the holographic version of herself, arms crossed, wearing a green uniform.

This emotionally charged image is from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Galaxy’s Child.” It captures a critical confrontation between the real Dr. Leah Brahms and Geordi La Forge in the Enterprise’s Engineering section. Dr. Brahms, dressed in a deep purple outfit, stands front and center, looking directly at Geordi with a mix of anger and disbelief. The subtitle reads, “Was it good for you?”—a scathing line delivered as she confronts Geordi about his previous interactions with a holodeck simulation of her, which stands behind her silently in a green outfit with arms crossed. Geordi, seen from behind in his Starfleet uniform and VISOR, listens silently.

This image is from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Galaxy’s Child.” It shows Geordi La Forge in a defensive posture, standing at the base of a ramp and addressing both the real Dr. Leah Brahms (in purple) and her holodeck counterpart (in green), who stand with their backs to the camera. The subtitle reads, “Nothing like that happened,” as Geordi attempts to explain or deny the implications of his previous interaction with the holographic version of Brahms.

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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 1d

This was a wild wide-ranging conversation. I mean it included talking about how #StarTrek #TNG beat #BlackMirror to deepfakes by decades. Remember this episode? TNG was talking about vibe coding, chat bot replicas, and even deepfakes back at the turn of the century.

This image is from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Booby Trap.” It features Geordi La Forge in his gold Starfleet uniform and VISOR, standing in the Enterprise’s holodeck and speaking to a computer-generated simulation of Dr. Leah Brahms, a renowned Starfleet engineer. The two are engaged in a conversation near a futuristic control console, with a starfield visible in the background. The subtitle reads, “Computer, exit holodeck,” indicating that Geordi is preparing to leave the simulation. In this episode, Geordi collaborates with the holodeck version of Dr. Brahms to solve a deadly energy trap threatening the Enterprise.

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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 1d

I was on one of @abovethelaw.com's podcasts talking about AI & the Law. Please listen to the whole thing before yelling at me.

TL;DR: If you're on the AI Hype Train™, I'll try to derail you & talk about the dangers of "AI," but if you dismiss their benefits, I'll point out some pro-social uses.

Stay of Execution: AI May Not Kill Us All, But It Will Change Legal Practice & Legal Education Like Nothing Else Before It with David Colarusso — Adventures In Legal Tech

I spoke with a lawyer, developer, educator & data scientist about how AI is disrupting law practice & legal education. Episode Highlights 03:33 - AI revolution challenge for law firms. 05:57 - What is...

overcast.fm

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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 2d

Also it’s Ada Palmer. I’m blaming autocorrect

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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 2d

I could keep going but that defeats the purpose of helping narrow things down. So, I’ll stop for now. Also, I have to get the kids ready for school. You, however, have to share some of your favorite non-fiction books. I would have said Sagan’s A Demon Haunted World, but I think you’ve read that. ;)

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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 2d

The Weinersmith’s A City on Mars was a fun read.

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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 2d

Ad Palmer’s Inventing the Renaissance. I’m close to the end and don’t want it to stop.

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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 2d

Note to self: When you think someone’s doing a bad job, you and they probably have different ideas about what their job is.

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Reposted by David Colarusso

David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 3d

DevOps & looking for a job? Come work with me @suffolklitlab.org. It's a great team and we do important work helping to address the access to justice crisis. See e.g., papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Suffolk LIT Lab @suffolklitlab.org · 3d

🚨 Cool Job Alert! 🚨 Are you a DevOps engineer? We're looking¹ for someone to help scale our open-source access to justice work.² Not a DevOps engineer? I bet you can repost this to someone who is.

¹ jobs.jobvite.com/suffolkunive... job listing
² www.youtube.com/watch?v=AECH... sample of what we do

Suffolk University is looking for DevOps Engineer, Legal Innovation and Technology Lab – Clinical Fellow (Remote).

Suffolk University is looking for DevOps Engineer, Legal Innovation and Technology Lab – Clinical Fellow (Remote). Learn more or Jobvite a friend.

jobs.jobvite.com

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David Colarusso @davidcolarusso.com · 3d

Generally speaking, I’m not a fan of earlier sunsets, but there’s something to be said for that brief window in the fall when they coincide with my commute.

A sunset view of the Boston skyline seen from Boston Common. The glassy John Hancock Tower reflects the warm orange and gold light of the setting sun, while the nearby Prudential Tower and other historic Back Bay buildings stand silhouetted against the glowing sky. The foreground is shaded by the dark outline of trees in the park, and a single lamppost glows softly as daylight fades. Overhead, scattered clouds catch the last vivid colors of dusk.

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