KC Fiber is high-speed gigabit internet that took a $10 million investment from the city and offers its residents high speed internet with no monthly bill. The City determined that internet is a public necessity. The city owns the fiber network, and contracts with DataShack to run the operation under the name KC Fiber.
Anatomy of the opposition to AI regulation in California
California Legislature is considering SB1074 (2024 | CA) that establishes safety framework for AI. The bill requires safety tests for AI to reduce the risks of “catastrophic harm.” SB1074 defines “catastrophic harm” as cyberattacks that cause at least $500 million in damage or mass casualties. The bill also requires that AI can be shut down by humans. The opposition says the bill, “If it were to go into effect as written, it would have a chilling effect on innovation in California.” The bill has passed the Senate and 2 House Committees. The bill’s supporters say the safety measures in the bill mirror safety-testing framework that OpenAI, Anthropic and other AI companies voluntarily adopted last year.
Veto of a AI political ban bill
Louisiana Governor vetoed HB 154 (2024 | LA) because the bill “creates serious First Amendment concerns as it relates to emerging technologies.” The state will follow the U.S. House Speaker’s lead and study the issue.
What do AI lobbying efforts look like?
Thus far in 2024, the number of groups registering to lobby federal officials on AI has increased to 556, up from 459 in 2023. ChatGPT maker OpenAI has spent $800,000 thus far in 2024 which more than doubles all of its spending in 2023. OpenAI rival Anthropic has also increased its lobbying expenditures.
Generative AI ROI
A report from Gartner this week suggests that more than 1/3 of Generative AI projects will be abandoned in 2025 after proof of concept. “After last year’s hype, executives are impatient to see returns on GenAI investments, yet organizations are struggling to prove and realize value. As the scope of initiatives widen, the financial burden of developing and deploying GenAI models is increasingly felt.”
Tech Crunch | This Week in AI: Companies are growing skeptical of AI’s ROI
First Digital Media Friendly Texas Certified Community
Everyone let’s congratulate Cedar Park for being the 1st Digital Media Friendly Texas Certified Community. How do communities achieve this? By completing the multi-step certification process and approval by the Texas Film Commission. The designation is intended to “spur digital media production across the state and grow local jobs in animation, visual effects (VFX), video games, and extended reality (XR).”
Block Chain Bill of Rights
Oklahoma Legislature is considering HB3594 that protects the right to mine block chain at home free from licenses, no additional taxes on cryptocurrency transactions, no capital gains on crypto currency in Oklahoma, and allows for cryptocurrency as a form of payment for goods and services in the state.
Opposition to surveillance pricing
George Slover, senior counsel for competition policy at the Center for Democracy & Technology, says that surveillance pricing, or bespoke pricing, ” inverts, or you might say perverts, the assumptions at the very foundation of the justification for the free market.”
Governing | What Is ‘Surveillance Pricing’ and Is It Causing Increased Prices?
Legislative trend: Curbing surveillance pricing
Did you know that online retailers have the ability to cull data and determine a personalize price for you based on how much their algorithm thinks you will pay for an item? Yep, hello surveillance pricing. An FTC order this week is looking into the situation, and is expected to take action with states are sure to follow.
Utah AI office focusing on mental health care
Utah created an AI Office this year when it enacted SB 149 (UT | 2024). Utah’s AI Office is housed inside the state’s Department of Commerce. The state has a lack of accessible mental health care providers. The office will work to create a framework for what AI chatbots are and are not allowed to do in mental health care.
KUER | Utah’s new Office of Artificial Intelligence will first focus on mental health care and AI