I recently saw a question on LinkedIn that asked why we don’t use more metal utility poles instead of wooden ones. It’s a good question, and there are a lot of issues to consider when choosing between the two. One issue to consider is useful life. On paper, the useful life of a wooden pole is thirty to forty years. However, there are plenty of poles that have lasted fifty and even sixty years. Another important issue is cost. Wooden poles have gotten a lot more expensive in recent years. I see prices online today between $250 and $1,300 for a 40-foot pole, with the price varying by thickness and load-bearing ability. Steel poles are more expensive, with a typical price for a 40-foot pole between $2,000 and $3,000.

Federal Communications Commissioner Olivia Trusty and Senior Legal Advisor Marcus Maher visited Minot (ND) on August 13 to tour critical communications systems and engage in a roundtable discussion with Minot area leaders. SRT CEO/General Manager Cassidy Hjelmstad, Commissioner Trusty, and Maher toured Minot Air Force Base with officials there before touring SRT’s facilities to get a full picture of the broadband provider and the communities it serves. Outside Plant Engineering Manager Scott Senger presented an overview of SRT from its establishment 75 years ago to its current impact as North Dakota's largest telecommunications cooperative.

How to apply the Federal Records Act (FRA) to existing Artificial Intelligence (AI) uses, with a focus on the use of AI platforms. Agencies’ use of AI platforms does not, in and of itself, result in the creation of federal records. Subsequent use of AI-generated materials in agency business may result in the creation of federal records. This memorandum explains the factors agencies should consider when making these determinations. Specifically, whether an AI material is a federal record depends on the circumstances surrounding the creation, maintenance, and use of the materials, such as whether the agency relies on it in decision-making, uses it to conduct official business, circulates the material to others, or incorporates it into an agency system. Agencies may only dispose of AI-related federal records in accordance with a NARA-approved records schedule. Existing General Records Schedules (GRS) authorize agencies to dispose of AI-related federal records when they reach the specified retention period. When agencies create federal records while using AI, these records may be “transitory” records that can be destroyed when no longer needed or “intermediary” records that may be destroyed upon creation of the subsequent record. 

Meta is intensifying its public pressure campaign on TikTok and YouTube, running full-page advertisements in top newspapers across the US demanding its rivals make comparable efforts to strengthen social media protections for teens. Meta signed a historic settlement of as much as $18 billion with US states requiring new safety features across Instagram and Facebook, including restrictions on the amount of time teens spend on the platforms. But in an unusual twist, the deal stipulates that Meta will only pay some of the settlement unless its competitors follow suit by committing to fines and similar concessions on their own platforms. The arrangement is aimed at incentivizing industry-wide change and acknowledges that kids will simply shift their attention to other outlets if they’re restricted on Instagram. “We want to ensure teens benefit from this new industry standard, but we cannot do it alone,” according to the ads. “These protections will only be truly effective if we work with our peers—TikTok and YouTube—to put the same measures in place.”