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States prepare for AI onslaught
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State legislatures are likely to spend next year debating new regulations and rules governing artificial intelligence (AI), as the nascent industry becomes a bigger player on the national stage.
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The hints are everywhere: The National Conference of State Legislatures devoted eight panels to AI issues at their annual meeting last week. Interim committees are studying AI applications in Georgia and South Dakota. A prominent Texas lawmaker is set to unveil his proposal next month. And Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed several bills into law this week.
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The most important developments in the next few weeks will come in California, where lawmakers are racing to finish work for the year before the end of August. Several prominent AI bills are taking final steps through committee processes, measures that would set the table for a national conversation next year.
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State legislators tell us they are acting because Congress won’t. But the state action could be a catalyst for movement in D.C.: Industry groups hate a patchwork of different laws and regulations, and only Congress can fix the problem.
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Welcome to Tech Friday, a joint project of The Hill and Pluribus News covering tech policy across government.
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Online safety bill hits House hurdles
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Legislation to boost privacy and safety for children online is running into challenges in the House, where leadership aides don’t believe it can pass in its current form. The bill passed the Senate last month in a 91-3 vote. Read more at The Hill.
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Lawmakers press Meta over drug ads
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A bipartisan group of members of Congress have written to Facebook parent company Meta expressing concerns over advertisements that promote illicit drugs. The legislators said Meta was allowing its platform to be used to sell drugs online. Read more at The Hill.
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White House hosts content creators
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White House officials met with about 100 digital creators and industry professionals on Wednesday in a first-of-its-kind economic conference. Both Democrats and Republicans issued credentials to dozens of creators ahead of their party conventions. Read more at The Hill.
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Google warns of Iranian hacks
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Google says an Iranian-backed cyber group is carrying out an “aggressive, multi-pronged” effort to target America’s presidential election. The group, APT42, has targeted high-ranking American and Israeli officials, Google said. Read more at The Hill.
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European anti-trust regulator on way out
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The Danish government will not renominate Margrethe Vestager for a third term as the EU’s top antitrust official. Vestager’s Social Liberal Party fared poorly in Denmark’s 2022 elections and is no longer a part of the ruling coalition. Read more at the Financial Times.
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Epic opens competing app store
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Epic Games has launched its rival app store for iOS in the European Union, the first time Apple’s store has a serious competitor. Epic said it would begin by offering its own games, including Fortnight, and that it would start onboarding third-party games in December. Read more at Wired.
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Magnificent Seven performance this week
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AAPL +3.7%, MSFT +2.6%, GOOG -1.1%, NVDA +16%, TSLA +9.8%, META +2.3%, AMZN +5.5%. NASDAQ-100 Tech Sector index: +5.5%.
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Illinois governor signs AI bills
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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed legislation protecting workers from discrimination in hiring decisions made by AI-powered systems. Pritzker also signed bills to protect singers and performers from having intellectual property replicated by AI. Read more at Pluribus News.
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Kids safety bills get new momentum
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Minnesota state Rep. Kristin Bahner (D) will try again next year to pass online safety legislation protecting children, and similar bills are coming in at least half a dozen more states. California passed the first kid’s code bill, known as the Age-Appropriate Design Code, in 2022, but courts blocked it last year. Read more at Pluribus News.
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California partners with NVIDIA on AI
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced the state will partner with the chip-making giant to train workers for jobs in the AI field. New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and other states have created similar partnerships or tax breaks for AI education and businesses in hopes of winning slices of the pie. Read more at Pluribus News.
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Aug. 22: Baidu reports second quarter earnings.
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Aug. 26-29: Broadcom will host the VMware Explore convention at the Venetian Convention and Expo Center in Las Vegas.
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California will become the latest state to allow residents to carry identification cards in their Apple or Google digital wallets. Digital IDs will be authorized for use at TSA screening checkpoints and at select businesses. Read more at Axios.
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Stay away from Marie Curie’s cookbooks. Not that she was a lousy cook, but it turns out they’re still radioactive 90 years after her death. And they will be for the next 1,500 years, scientists say. The French national library houses Curie’s notebooks in lead-lined boxes; anyone who wants to view them must wear protective gear. Read more at History Facts.
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You’re all caught up! See you next week.
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