Artificial Intelligence

AI, once relegated to helping hackers with certain tasks, can now power every stage of a cyberattack

Researchers determined that AI was used in steps across entire cyber operations to identify security flaws, generate commands and carry out parts of intrusions, sometimes with little human oversight. Both U.S. and Chinese AI models have been involved.

AI’s real promise for government: Shortening the distance from data to decision

COMMENTARY | The speed of decision-making matters for those in charge of government programs. AI can change that process from months to days, hours or minutes.

Missoula County adopts temporary moratorium on data centers

The interim freeze would prohibit new or expanded data centers in the Montana county, excluding the city of Missoula.

The nation’s housing crisis needs more than AI to solve it, experts say

The technology is just one of many levers to effecting change in the housing landscape for states and localities, experts say.

Illinois governor signs major AI safety law

The legislation requires large developers to identify, disclose and mitigate risks, protects whistleblowers and — in a national first — mandates regular third-party audits.

This permit, common for dry cleaners, is now being used to build AI power plants

Texas regulators are allowing AI data centers across the state to start up thousands of new pollution sources with no public notice or environmental reviews.

California has started to track AI-related job loss

While such insights can be helpful for protecting workers against negative impacts of the technology, decision-makers should proceed with caution when using such data, experts say.

How Texas modernized a ‘train wreck’ customer service center

The licensing division of the state’s Department of Public Safety left people on hold, sometimes for hours, until it modernized its systems and broke down siloes.

Clark County commissioners hear push for data center moratorium but take no action

Nevada residents have protested the number of data centers going up in their communities, but elected leaders did not lay out any specific plans or regulations.

How Kansas’ labor department’s tech became ‘built for tomorrow’

The state was reliant on 1970s-era systems that were exposed by COVID-19. Since then, it has moved to the cloud and embraced AI as part of a major modernization push.

How Virginia became the world’s data center capital and how it’s going

From AOL’s arrival in Ashburn to today’s AI-driven boom, Virginia became the backbone of the internet economy. Now lawmakers are debating how to manage the industry’s soaring energy demands and economic influence.

What California has learned from an AI-enabled early wildfire detection system

A public safety program in the state is using a sensor network and real-time data to suppress wildfires more quickly and gain insights on developing climate-related risks.

Where a small government should start on its AI journey

COMMENTARY | The fastest path is towards better operations, and over the course of a 90-day period, even a small team can embrace the tech and make big improvements.

Nevada official ‘cautiously optimistic’ about AI solution to reducing SNAP error rates

After launching a new data analytics program earlier this year, the Nevada Division of Social Services is seeing early gains in identifying erroneous or fraudulent SNAP payments.

In bipartisan fashion, PA lawmakers vote to repeal tax incentives for data centers

House lawmakers voted 197-5 on Thursday to pass a bill that would repeal sales tax incentives for data center owners and operators.

Police use of artificial intelligence grows as rules lag behind

Experts warn that AI-powered policing could expand surveillance and amplify bias.

North Dakota lawmakers zero in on AI, data centers

A new state commission work will study data center development, including water and electricity consumption, and how other states are approaching where they’re built.

Regulating artificial intelligence will be ‘colossal task’ for Alabama lawmakers

The leader of the Alabama Senate said regulating AI would be a “colossal task,” and the Legislature would have to take “baby steps.”

The public-sector talent marketplaces that will fail

COMMENTARY | Most platforms degrade within three years, and rely on staff heroics and manual work. Treating it like long-term infrastructure, not a one-time purchase, is key to maintaining trust.

AI just a small part of Amtrak’s ‘invisible infrastructure,’ tech leader says

While new technology can help make operations more efficient, the agency also needs good data, effective change management and improved processes, with AI as the “end state.”