GAO to Ted Cruz: USAC Is Just Alright With Me
Friday, August 23, 2024
August 2024
Bored? Scientists say mindless scrolling through online videos makes it worse (Washington Post)
Submitted by benton on Fri, 08/23/2024 - 06:18Chips or Not, Chinese AI Pushes Ahead (Wall Street Journal)
Submitted by benton on Fri, 08/23/2024 - 06:18
Weekly Digest
Weekly Digest
Shot Clock Winding Down on ARPA Funds For Broadband Projects
Communities looking to leverage American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for broadband or other local infrastructure need to act soon or risk losing access to a once-in-a-generation funding resource. Most ARPA recipients seem well aware of the deadline, but data suggests more than a few communities could drop the ball. The Treasury Department tracks allotted ARPA awards and projected budget plans via a massive database.
Donald Trump Deflects Question About Taylor Swift’s Fake Endorsement: ‘AI Is Always Very Dangerous’ (Wrap, The)
Submitted by zwalker@benton.org on Thu, 08/22/2024 - 16:23Tech companies rally behind FTC’s crackdown on fake reviews (Washington Post)
Submitted by zwalker@benton.org on Thu, 08/22/2024 - 16:23
Governor Hochul Announces Settlement to Provide Discounted Broadband to Low-Income New Yorkers
Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) had reached a settlement agreement with Charter Communications, parent company of broadband provider Spectrum, which operates in 58 out of the 62 counties in New York State, requiring the communications company to provide discounted broadband service to low-income customers in the National Free School Lunch Program or receive Supplemental Security Income benefits. The settlement will require Charter to offer the program at $15/month for 50 Mbps download speed for four years to New Yorkers in the National
In Chicago, Democratic Mayors Urge Action to Preserve Affordable Internet
Democratic mayors from major U.S. cities discussed the critical need to maintain affordable internet access for their constituents to mitigate impacts of the federal Affordable Connectivity Program’s expiration. The mayors outlined strategies to bridge the gap left by the program’s end during a discussion hosted by the Democratic Mayors Association at the Democratic National Convention.
Trump’s tricky new use of AI
When Barack Obama mocked Donald Trump’s “weird obsession with crowd sizes” at the Democratic National Convention this week, the audience went wild, and the internet made the moment go viral. But on Trump’s end, something else was also going on when he made his (false) assertions that Kamala Harris used artificial intelligence to inflate the crowd sizes in images of her rallies. AI might not have blown up politics the way some people worried it was going to.