States take leading role on AI as Washington lags
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State lawmakers across the country have reached an inescapable, and hard to refute, conclusion: When it comes to technology, Washington is moving too slowly — so the states are taking up the mantle.
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This year alone, state lawmakers introduced 693 pieces of legislation related to artificial intelligence (AI) alone, up about fivefold from the year before.
And that’s just the beginning: Next year, expect lawmakers to advance dozens of those bills, especially if next week’s election continues to leave a divided Washington.
The most consequential bills that passed this year came mainly in blue states. But red states are close behind: Texas state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R) rolled out a major AI regulation package this week that could become the blueprint for other red state lawmakers.
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It’s a sign that state lawmakers are tired of waiting for Washington. And it’s the beginning of what we see in a lot of legislative fights: The state-by-state patchwork of laws and regulations eventually forces Congress to act. Legislators are already beginning to set the table stakes.
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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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Trump fields calls from tech leaders
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Former President Donald Trump says he has spoken in recent weeks with the chief executives of Apple, Google and Amazon as they prepare for the possibility of a second Trump term in office. Trump said Google CEO Sundar Pichai complimented his recent appearance at a McDonald’s restaurant in suburban Philadelphia. Read more at The Hill.
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Coinbase to give more in 2025
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The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase said it would donate another $25 million to Fairshake, a pro-crypto super PAC, to continue pressuring lawmakers to take pro-crypto stands. The cryptocurrency industry has become among the biggest players in federal election spending this year. Read more at The Hill.
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Markey urges Meta to study 2024 election
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Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) urged Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta to allow independent researchers to study the impact of its platforms on the 2024 elections. Meta launched a partnership with researchers ahead of the 2020 elections; it has not announced a similar partnership this year. Read more at The Hill.
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AI energy needs revive interest in nuclear
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Some of the largest AI companies in the United States are turning to nuclear energy to provide the power they need for their cloud computing systems. Amazon, Google and Microsoft in recent weeks have announced deals to revive dormant nuclear plants or build new facilities to power their growth. Read more at Pluribus News.
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Google CEO says code written by AI
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Google CEO Sundar Pichai said on a third quarter earnings call that more than a quarter of the new code the company is rolling out is generated by AI before review by engineers. Pichai said Alphabet’s investments in AI are paying off through its Gemini AI chatbot and AI-powered search features. Read more at The Hill.
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Musk seeks venue change in giveaway suit
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X and Tesla owner Elon Musk is attempting to move a lawsuit challenging his $1 million daily giveaways to registered voters in swing states to federal court. The request guarantees a lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania court by Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner (D) halts while a federal judge takes it under consideration. Read more at The Hill.
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Magnificent Seven performance this week
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AAPL -4.8%, MSFT -4.1%, GOOG +1.6%, TSLA -7.9%, NVDA -4.6%, META -1.8%, AMZN +4.9%. NASDAQ-100 Tech Sector index: -1.6%.
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Officials warn of election deepfakes
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Election officials across the country are sending warnings about AI-generated deepfakes designed to sow confusion and mistrust. Attorneys general and secretaries of state in Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, New Mexico, New York, Vermont and Washington have issued warnings in just the last few days. Read more at Pluribus News.
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Texas rep rolls out AI bill
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Rep. Capriglione’s legislation seeks to guard against algorithmic discrimination by automated decision-making systems. The bill would require developers to take “reasonable care” to ensure their systems do not discriminate and require consumers to be informed if and when AI systems make decisions about their lives. Read more at Pluribus News.
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Tech industry sues Florida
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Two major tech trade groups sued Florida to block a law restricting teenagers’ access to social media. Florida’s HB 3 would prohibit anyone under 14 from accessing social media platforms, and require anyone under 16 to obtain parental consent. The trade groups say that violates First Amendment rights. Read more at Pluribus News.
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Nov. 4: Palantir reports third quarter earnings.
Nov. 5: Election Day in the United States.
Nov. 6: Qualcomm and Lyft report third quarter earnings.
Nov. 7: AirBnb, Cloudflare and Pinterest report third quarter earnings.
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Even astronauts get into the Halloween spirit: NASA on Thursday released a series of photographs of International Space Station residents dressed in costume over the years, including Italian Luca Parmitano’s ode to Superman, four astronauts dressed as Mario characters in 2022 and NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor wielding a light saber. See the funny photos at NASA.
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Indonesia has banned sales of the Google Pixel and Apple’s iPhone 16 smartphones because neither complies with national rules requiring 40% of a phone’s content to come from local sources. Smartphone manufacturers must make their devices, develop firmware or invest in local innovation to meet Indonesia’s requirements. Read more at TechCrunch.
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