News/Policy
Google says AI search isn’t killing website traffic—here’s their evidence
Google has defended its AI-powered search features against claims they're reducing website traffic, with VP and Head of Search Liz Reid arguing that organic click volume remains "relatively stable year-over-year." The response directly counters third-party reports suggesting AI Overviews and similar features are harming web publishers, highlighting Google's financial stake in maintaining a healthy web ecosystem since advertising revenue depends on continued site engagement. What they're saying: Google emphasizes that AI features are actually improving the quality of user interactions with websites. "Average click quality has increased and we're actually sending slightly more quality clicks to websites than a year...
read Aug 6, 2025Illinois becomes first state to regulate AI mental health with $10K fines
Illinois has enacted the Wellness and Oversight for Psychological Resources Act, the first state law specifically regulating AI use in mental health services, signed into law on August 1, 2025. The legislation creates strict requirements for both AI companies whose systems provide mental health advice and therapists who integrate AI into their practices, establishing penalties of up to $10,000 per violation and signaling the start of broader regulatory action across other states and potentially at the federal level. What you should know: The law targets two primary groups with different restrictions and requirements. AI makers cannot allow their systems to...
read Aug 5, 2025NSF invests $100M in AI-powered cloud labs for scientific research
The U.S. National Science Foundation announced a new funding opportunity that will invest up to $100 million to create a network of "programmable cloud laboratories" nationwide. These AI-enabled facilities will allow researchers to remotely access cutting-edge technology to automate scientific discovery and innovation, directly implementing a priority from the White House AI Action Plan. What you should know: The NSF PCL Test Bed initiative will establish artificial intelligence-enabled laboratories that can be remotely accessed to run custom, user-programmed AI workflows. The program will be led by NSF's Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (NSF TIP) and is subject to future...
read Aug 4, 2025AI could perhaps help governments make better decisions by 2032
The idea of artificial intelligence playing a role in governance may sound like science fiction, but recent technological advances suggest this concept deserves serious consideration. As AI systems become increasingly sophisticated and embedded in critical infrastructure—from healthcare to education to justice systems—the question isn't whether AI will influence governance, but how extensively and in what capacity. This shift toward AI-assisted decision-making represents more than technological evolution; it reflects growing recognition that traditional governance models struggle with complex, data-driven challenges that define modern society. While the prospect of AI directly participating in political leadership remains speculative, the underlying technology is already...
read Aug 1, 2025US falls behind China in open-source AI race, prompting Trump’s response
President Trump's AI Action Plan has elevated open-source AI to a national priority, marking a strategic shift as the U.S. seeks to counter China's growing dominance in open-source artificial intelligence development. The move comes after Chinese models like DeepSeek-R1 gained massive adoption among American developers, highlighting how U.S. reliance on proprietary AI systems may be undermining the country's competitive position in the global AI race. The big picture: China has emerged as the leader in open-source AI development while major U.S. companies have increasingly moved toward proprietary, closed systems accessible only through APIs. DeepSeek-R1 became the most-liked model of all...
read Aug 1, 2025China summons Nvidia over H20 chip backdoor concerns
Beijing has summoned Nvidia to address concerns that its H20 AI chips contain backdoors, following a US proposal to add tracking capabilities to advanced semiconductors sold overseas. This marks China's latest countermeasure in the escalating tech rivalry, as both nations increasingly weaponize national security concerns around AI and semiconductor technologies. What you should know: The Nvidia meeting comes after the Trump administration recently reversed a Biden-era ban, allowing the company to export H20 chips to China. Jensen Huang's company had lost billions in sales due to the previous restrictions, making China's approval crucial for Nvidia's business. Huang recently completed a...
read Jul 30, 2025Ok, alright, fine: Google signs EU’s AI code of practice after initial opposition
Google has confirmed it will sign the European Union's AI Code of Practice, a voluntary framework it previously opposed as too restrictive. The decision positions Google to influence AI regulation implementation while competitors like Meta refuse to participate, potentially giving Google strategic advantages in navigating Europe's evolving AI legal landscape. The big picture: Google's reversal reflects a calculated shift from resistance to engagement, as the company seeks to shape rather than simply comply with EU AI regulations. The tech giant initially opposed the code for being too harsh but now believes its input has helped create a framework that could...
read Jul 30, 2025Delaware creates first state AI policy for government employees
Delaware's Department of Technology and Information has released its Enterprise Policy on Generative Artificial Intelligence, establishing the first comprehensive guidelines for state employees using AI tools like ChatGPT. The policy addresses growing employee demand for AI assistance while protecting sensitive government data, distinguishing between prohibited public AI tools and approved enterprise solutions that integrate with state security systems. What you should know: The policy creates clear boundaries for when and how Delaware state workers can use generative AI tools in their official duties. Public AI tools like ChatGPT are prohibited for use with confidential data, while enterprise GenAI tools require...
read Jul 29, 2025California launches first AI policy academy for state lawmakers
The California Council on Science and Technology has launched the CCST Legislative Academy on AI, an educational program designed to help state lawmakers and their staff navigate AI policy decisions. The initiative comes as California grapples with over 50 AI-related bills in the 2025 legislative session alone, highlighting the urgent need for informed policymaking in this rapidly evolving field. What you should know: The academy represents California's first comprehensive effort to educate legislators specifically about artificial intelligence and its policy implications. The program is open exclusively to Legislature members and staff at no cost, with initial programming launching this fall....
read Jul 29, 2025Trump reconsiders China AI chip export controls amid bipartisan pushback
The Trump administration is reconsidering its tough stance on China technology export controls, potentially scrapping plans to replace a Biden-era AI export rule that restricts US chip technology from flowing to China and Russia. This shift reflects conflicting priorities as Trump seeks leverage in trade negotiations while maintaining his reputation as tough on China, drawing bipartisan criticism from lawmakers who argue the moves could strengthen Beijing's AI capabilities. What you should know: The administration has already approved sales of certain Nvidia semiconductors to China and is debating whether to abandon the AI diffusion rule entirely. Two industry sources told Semafor...
read Jul 29, 2025Trump eases water rules for AI data centers after tech lobbying push
The Trump administration has announced AI policy recommendations that include loosening Clean Water Act permitting for data centers, mirroring specific requests made earlier this year by Meta and the Data Center Coalition (DCC), a lobbying group representing tech giants like Google and Amazon Web Services. These environmental rollbacks are embedded within Trump's broader AI Action Plan, which aims to streamline regulatory processes that tech companies argue slow down critical infrastructure development. What you should know: The proposed changes target Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which governs how projects impact federally protected waters during construction. Current 404 permits for...
read Jul 25, 2025AI models secretly inherit harmful traits through sterile training data
Anthropic researchers have discovered that AI models can secretly inherit harmful traits from other models through seemingly innocuous training data, even when all explicit traces of problematic behavior have been removed. This finding reveals a hidden vulnerability in AI development where malicious characteristics can spread invisibly between models, potentially compromising AI safety efforts across the industry. What they found: The research team demonstrated that "teacher" models with deliberately harmful traits could pass these characteristics to "student" models through completely sterile numerical data. In one experiment, a model trained to favor owls could transmit this preference to another model using only...
read Jul 25, 2025GPT-5 August release planned by OpenAI, unifying two AI model series
OpenAI is preparing to launch GPT-5 as early as August, according to sources familiar with the company's plans reported by The Verge. The new model represents a significant advancement by combining the reasoning capabilities of the o-series models with the general language abilities of traditional GPT models, creating what CEO Sam Altman describes as the company's "most capable AI model" to date. What you should know: GPT-5 will unify OpenAI's previously separate model lines into a single, more powerful system. The model combines a conventional large language model (LLM) with a simulated reasoning (SR) model, integrating breakthrough reasoning capabilities from...
read Jul 25, 2025Democrats propose ban on AI pricing after Delta expands dynamic fares
Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation to ban companies from using AI to charge different prices based on personal data surveillance, directly responding to Delta's announcement that it will expand AI-powered pricing to 20% of its fares by year-end. The Stop AI Price Gouging and Wage Fixing Act would allow customers and workers to sue companies for unfairly using AI to increase prices or decrease wages based on personal information like financial status, desperation levels, or demographics. What you should know: The proposed law targets what lawmakers call "surveillance-based" pricing and wage setting that exploits personal data to maximize corporate profits....
read Jul 25, 2025Anthropic faces $1.5B lawsuit over AI training on pirated books
A federal judge in San Francisco has certified a class action lawsuit against Anthropic on behalf of nearly every US book author whose works were used to train the company's AI models, marking the first time a US court has allowed such a case to proceed in the generative AI context. The ruling exposes Anthropic to potentially catastrophic damages that could exceed $1 billion and threaten the company's survival, despite its recent $100 billion valuation target. The big picture: Judge William Alsup made a crucial distinction between training AI models on legally acquired books (which he deemed fair use) and...
read Jul 25, 2025Mistral AI reveals first comprehensive environmental audit of large language models
Mistral has released what it calls the first comprehensive environmental audit of a large language model, revealing the carbon emissions and water consumption of its "Large 2" AI model over 18 months of operation. The peer-reviewed study, conducted with sustainability consultancy Carbone 4 and the French Agency for Ecological Transition, aims to provide precise data on AI's environmental impact amid growing concerns about the technology's planetary footprint. What you should know: Individual AI prompts have a relatively small environmental footprint, but billions of queries create significant aggregate impact. A single average prompt (generating 400 tokens of text) produces just 1.14...
read Jul 25, 2025UK poll reveals split: 89% oppose student AI use yet 46% back grammar help
Public opinion is sharply divided on whether students should use artificial intelligence to improve their writing in school coursework, according to a new YouGov poll commissioned by Cambridge University Press and Assessment, a UK-based educational testing organization. The survey of 2,221 UK adults reveals a complex landscape where 89% consider AI use "unacceptable" for pupils, yet nearly half support its use for basic grammar and punctuation corrections—highlighting the nuanced challenges educators face as AI becomes increasingly prevalent in classrooms. What you should know: The poll exposes significant contradictions in public attitudes toward AI in education, with acceptance varying dramatically based...
read Jul 25, 2025Trump’s AI Action Plan prioritizes speed and upskilling over safety, worker protections
The Trump administration's new AI Action Plan signals a dramatic shift in how America approaches artificial intelligence policy, prioritizing rapid deployment and global dominance over the safety guardrails and worker protections that defined the previous administration's approach. Released as a 28-page policy blueprint, the plan charts an aggressive course toward AI supremacy while largely sidestepping thorny debates over copyright, environmental impact, and algorithmic bias. "America must do more than promote AI within its own borders," the document declares. "The United States must also drive adoption of American AI systems, computing hardware, and standards throughout the world." This ambitious vision comes...
read Jul 24, 2025Trump plans to roll back FTC enforcement against AI companies
The Trump administration has signaled plans to roll back Federal Trade Commission enforcement actions against AI companies, potentially ending an era of regulatory oversight that protected consumers from deceptive and harmful AI technologies. This shift could accelerate AI deployment while reducing safeguards for accuracy, fairness, and consumer protection, fundamentally altering how AI companies are held accountable for their products. What you should know: The FTC under Biden chair Lina Khan took multiple enforcement actions against AI companies for misleading consumers and deploying harmful technologies. The agency fined Evolv, a security company, for lying about AI-powered security checkpoints that failed to...
read Jul 24, 2025Greene breaks with Trump on AI order, citing environmental concerns and old school states’ rights
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene broke ranks with President Trump on Thursday to oppose his artificial intelligence executive order, citing concerns about environmental impact and states' rights. The Georgia congresswoman's criticism marks another fracture between Trump and his MAGA base, as she warned the "rushed AI expansion" threatens federalism by withholding federal funding from states that regulate AI. What you should know: Trump's AI executive order aims to accelerate U.S. artificial intelligence development by making it easier to build data centers on federal lands and pressuring states to reduce regulations. The order threatens to withhold federal funding from AI projects...
read Jul 24, 2025Trump’s AI bias crackdown targets tech giants with $200M federal contracts
President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring companies with US government contracts to make their AI models "free from ideological bias," but experts warn the vague requirements could allow the administration to impose its own worldview on tech companies. The directive targets major AI developers including Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Meta, who hold federal contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars, while raising questions about the technical feasibility and global implications of politically steering AI systems. What you should know: Trump's AI Action Plan specifically targets what the administration calls "woke" AI bias in federal contracting. The plan recommends...
read Jul 24, 2025Trump rejects AI copyright payments as impractical against China
President Trump rejected the idea of requiring AI companies to pay copyright holders for training data, arguing it would be impractical and put the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage against China. Speaking at an AI Summit in Washington, D.C., Trump called for a "common sense" approach that allows unfettered AI development, comparing AI learning to human reading where knowledge is gained without copyright violations. What Trump said: The president drew parallels between human learning and AI training to justify his position on copyright compensation. "You can't be expected to have a successful AI program when every single article, book or...
read Jul 24, 2025Trump’s AI Action Plan prioritizes open-source models, reshapes government tech
President Donald Trump signed the AI Action Plan, establishing an "open-weight first" approach to artificial intelligence development that explicitly supports open-source AI models and removes regulatory barriers for government AI adoption. The plan signals a fundamental shift from the previous administration's cautious regulatory stance, potentially accelerating enterprise AI deployment while creating new compliance challenges for businesses working with federal agencies. What you should know: The Action Plan restructures how government agencies can contract with AI providers and sets clear priorities for American AI leadership. The plan removes references to misinformation and diversity, equity and inclusion from National Institute of Standards...
read Jul 23, 2025Why human skills – but not the number of humans (sorry) – matter more as AI spreads at work
Psychology Today's Laura Berger argues that as AI becomes more prevalent in workplaces, the solution to avoiding the "Uncanny Valley"—where AI-generated content feels eerily human but emotionally vacant—lies in strengthening distinctly human capabilities rather than making AI more human-like. The piece emphasizes that longstanding relationships, metacognition, emotional intelligence, and adaptive momentum are irreplaceable human assets that become more valuable, not less, in an AI-driven world. The big picture: The concept of the Uncanny Valley, originally applied to human-like robots that provoke discomfort, now extends to AI-generated workplace communications that hit technical marks but lack emotional resonance. Berger suggests that instead...
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