Artificial Intelligence

We have several sets of broadband priorities at odds with each other in the country. The federal government is on a big push to move all transactions with the government to digital. The government is also clearly supporting an AI revolution where AI is supposed to revolutionize the way we work and live. According to federal government rhetoric, we are a little bit ahead of the Chinese in terms of AI development, and politicians seem to support the idea of doing whatever is needed to make sure that the U.S. wins the AI race.

The latest AI models powering ChatGPT just learned to be friendlier, improving the experience for people who use chatbots responsibly.

The rapacious energy needs of data centers finally seem to have taken a political toll. In recent elections, candidates in Virginia, New Jersey and elsewhere ran—and won—on voters’ frustration with rising utility bills caused partly by America’s enormous AI buildout.

Watching people who participate in Marylanders Online—a statewide digital equity initiative that offers a broad range of educational resources aimed at strengthening community capacity, providing free courses on digital and AI literacy for all—often reminds me of a concept I return to again and again: tech readiness (also called digital readiness). The term refers to an individual’s propensity to embrace technology to accomplish goals in both personal and professional contexts, as well as their preparedness to adapt to ongoing technological change.

A new digital awakening is unfolding in churches, where pastors and prayer apps are turning to artificial intelligence to reach worshippers, personalize sermon

The nationwide push to protect kids from AI chatbots is entering a new frontier: adults. OpenAI was recently hit with seven lawsuits claiming that ChatGPT led users to lose touch with reality, which in some cases resulted in suicide. All but one of the alleged victims were adults. The lawsuits represent a new, murkier front for lawmakers and Big Tech in the national argument about the harms and risks of chatbots.

The MAGA populists who made breaking up Big Tech their rallying cry are losing momentum under President Trump's full-throated embrace of AI and cozy relations with the tech industry. The Trump administration would rather scrap regulations than create new ones in the age of AI, blunting whatever bipartisan unity remained around curbing tech's power. "The uncharitable read is these executives have just cozied up to the White House and are pulling the strings, and that's why there's been this shift," said Brad Littlejohn, director of programs at conservative populist think tank American Compas

Governors and local leaders in the Midwest and South say they're hopeful that AI will supercharge stagnant economies and create new jobs despite questions over whether the AI revolution is all it's cracked up to be. Policymakers, industry leaders and local organizations gathered at the "

David Edinger, Colorado's chief information officer, met with Colorado Gov Jared Polis (D) in 2024, and Gov Polis told him to embrace AI in state government. "I said, 'We've seen a few missteps from certain cities and states around the country. How do you feel about an approach that's more along the lines of bullish with guardrails?'" Edinger said.

The rapid emergence of artificial intelligence technologies has prompted a familiar regulatory response: in the absence of a cohesive federal framework, states are rushing in to fill the void with a patchwork of local initiatives. But while some may argue that this patchwork is a noble fulfilment of federalism, the economics nonetheless argue for these state laws to be preempted and replaced with a single federal framework. We first looked at this problem back in 2008 when we published a paper entitled Developing a National Wireless Regulatory Framework: A Law and Economics Approach.