News That Caught Our Eye #47

Published on January 1, 1970

Summary

McKinsey explores the rise of AI in the workplace while Pew finds that half of workers (52%) say they’re worried about AI at work and Dane Gambrell argues that AI is being used as an excuse for mass layoffs in the federal government. According to OpenAI, California, Virginia, New Jersey, and New York lead in student AI adoption. Governor Newsom announces "Engaged California," an AI-enabled digital democracy initiative that will collect ideas from residents about how the state can support those impacted by the LA wildfires. A paper from The GovLab examines AI's potential to transform evidence-based policymaking. Read more in this week's AI News That Caught Our Eye.

Governing AI

AI and Copyright: Expanding Copyright Hurts Everyone—Here’s What to Do Instead

Tori Noble on February 19, 2025 in Electronic Frontier Foundation

This article argues against requiring licenses for data used to train AI systems, arguing that this expansion of copyright law would stifle innovation, harm research, and limit competition by favoring large corporations: “Requiring researchers to license fair uses of AI training data could make socially valuable research based on machine learning (ML) and even text and data mining (TDM)  prohibitively complicated and expensive, if not impossible. Researchers have relied on fair use to conduct TDM research for a decade, leading to important advancements in myriad fields. However, licensing the vast quantity of works that high-quality TDM research requires is frequently cost-prohibitive and practically infeasible.”

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AI for Governance

Reimagining the Policy Cycle in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Sara Marcucci and Stefaan Verhulst on February 19, 2025 in SSRN

“This paper explores AI’s role in three key phases of the policy cycle: (1) problem identification, where AI can support issue framing, trend detection, and scenario creation; (2) policy design, where AI-driven simulations and decision-support tools can improve solution alignment with real-world contexts; and (3) policy implementation and impact assessment, where AI can enhance monitoring, evaluation, and adaptive decision-making. Despite its promise, AI adoption in policymaking remains limited due to challenges such as algorithmic bias, lack of explainability, resource demands, and ethical concerns related to data privacy and environmental impact. To ensure responsible and effective AI integration, this paper highlights key recommendations: prioritizing augmentation over automation, embedding human oversight throughout AI-driven processes, facilitating policy iteration, and combining AI with participatory governance models.”

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AI and Public Engagement

California to Launch First-in-the-Nation Digital Democracy Effort to Improve Public Engagement

on February 23, 2025 in The Office of Governor Gavin Newsom

“Governor Gavin Newsom announced California’s upcoming launch of Engaged California, a program to support community conversations about important topics using digital platforms. The program is modeled after successful digital democracy efforts in Taiwan, which used digital tools to help increase consensus-building and build governance powered by the people…. The end goal is to encourage more discussions as a new way to find common ground, a process known internationally as deliberative democracy.” The Los Angeles Times reported that the first use case will collect ideas for how to support those impacted by the Pacific Palisades and Altadena wildfires. The digital platform will enable residents to submit ideas and comments and will use AI to help officials process and prioritize among comments.

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AI and Public Engagement

Main takeaways: What AI means for public engagement with parliaments

on February 11, 2025 in IPU Public Engagement

“A January 2025 webinar hosted by the Public Engagement Hub of the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s (IPU) Centre for Innovation in Parliament (CIP) and the International Parliament Engagement Network (IPEN) brought together parliamentary practitioners and experts to explore how AI could reshape the relationship between parliaments and the public, highlighting both opportunities and challenges. One official outlined how AI could be used to analyse public consultations in order to connect with less-represented groups, and how chatbots could make parliamentary information more accessible by providing summary answers and relevant links. Ms. Sahar Attia, member of the House of Representatives of Egypt and Chair of the IPU Working Group on Science and Technology, raised an important distinction between ‘public engagement’ (a top-down process that contributes to decision-making) and ‘participation’ (a bottom-up process focused on hearing views and perspectives). This framework helps to clarify how AI might serve different democratic purposes – from making parliamentary information more accessible, to analysing and understanding public input in new ways.”

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AI and Public Engagement

AI Cracks Superbug Problem in Two Days That Took Scientists Years

Tom Gerken on February 20, 2025 in BBC

“A complex problem that took microbiologists a decade to get to the bottom of has been solved in just two days by a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool. Professor José R Penadés and his team at Imperial College London had spent years working out and proving why some superbugs – dangerous germs that are resistant to antibiotics – are immune to specific medications. He gave ‘co-scientist’ - a tool made by Google - a short prompt asking it about the core problem he had been investigating and it reached the same conclusion in 48 hours. The full decade spent by the scientists also includes the time it took to prove the research, which itself was multiple years. He said the researchers on the project were convinced that it would prove very useful in the future.”

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AI and Public Engagement

Impact Hack 2025 Brings Together Swedish Civil Society: Aims to Solve Societal Challenges with the Help of AI

News Staff on February 13, 2025 in AI Sweden

AI Sweden announced the ten Swedish organizations selected to participate in Impact Hack 2025. The purpose of Impact Hack 2025 is to bring together non-profit organizations from Swedish civil society with AI experts. Together with around 80 AI experts, the organizations will spend a day developing ideas linked to some of Sweden's biggest societal challenges, such as organized crime, disinformation, and effective healthcare. Among the selected ideas are AI support for individuals who want to leave organized crime, an inclusive AI assistant for families with children with disabilities, and an AI assistant for moderators and journalists to promote more rewarding debates and interviews.

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AI Infrastructure

Hong Kong government earmarks $128 million for new AI research institute and aims to cut public spending

Amala Balakrishner on February 26, 2025 in CNBC

“Hong Kong’s government has earmarked 1 billion Hong Kong dollars ($128.67 million) for the establishment of an artificial intelligence research institute. Called the Hong Kong AI Research and Development Institute, the facility will ‘spearhead and support Hong Kong’s innovative R&D as well as industrial application of AI,’ the city’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan said in his budget speech Wednesday.”

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AI Infrastructure

Building an AI-Ready Workforce: A Look at College Student ChatGPT Adoption in the US

Leah Belsky on February 1, 2025 in OpenAI

OpenAI's report examines the prevalence and impact of ChatGPT usage among US college students. The study combines user data and survey results to reveal adoption rates across states, highlighting disparities in AI access and knowledge. It finds that students are actively using AI for learning and skill development, even without formal instruction. While student adoption of ChatGPT is strong, it varies significantly by state, according to OpenAI user data. California, Virginia, New Jersey, and New York have the nation’s highest adoption rates by 18-24 year olds, followed by Arizona, Washington and Utah. On the other hand, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and West Virginia have relatively low adoption rates by the same age group. The report emphasizes the increasing demand from employers for AI-ready workers, suggesting that states with lower adoption rates risk falling behind. To address these challenges, OpenAI proposes strategies focused on increasing access, demystifying AI, and developing clear policies within educational institutions.

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AI and Labor

U.S. Workers Are More Worried Than Hopeful About Future AI Use in the Workplace

Luona Lin and Kim Parker on February 25, 2025 in Pew Research Center

“This Pew Research Center study explores American workers' attitudes toward AI in the workplace. Conducted in October 2024, they polled over 5,000 employed adults about their experiences and concerns related to AI. The findings reveal that many workers are worried about AI's impact on job opportunities, although younger, more educated workers are more likely to use and see benefits from AI, including chatbots. While AI is seen as speeding up work by some, fewer believe it improves quality. About half of workers (52%) say they’re worried about the future impact of AI use in the workplace, and 32% think it will lead to fewer job opportunities for them in the long run, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. And while 36% of workers also say they feel hopeful about how AI may be used in the workplace in the future, a similar share (33%) say they feel overwhelmed. About one-in-six workers (16%) say at least some of their work is currently done with AI. And an additional 25% say, while they’re not using it much now, at least some of their work can be done with AI. These shares are significantly higher among young workers and workers with at least a bachelor’s degree. Overall, the report highlights a mix of hope and apprehension among U.S. workers regarding the increasing integration of AI in their jobs.”

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AI and Labor

How Tech Oligarchs Are Using AI Hype to Push Mass Layoffs

Dane Gambrell on February 25, 2025 in Reboot Democracy

Earlier this month, software firm Workday announced that it would be laying off more than 1,700 workers – or about 8.5% of its workforce – to redirect investment towards artificial intelligence. Google and Meta are among the tech giants that have cited the need to invest resources in AI development as the reason for cutting jobs. Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is now bringing the AI-fueled mass layoff strategy to the federal government. At the same time, workers are building power to confront AI-driven mass layoffs through collective action.

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AI and Labor

Superagency in the workplace: Empowering people to unlock AI’s full potential

Hannah Mayer, Lareina Yee, Michael Chui, and Roger Roberts on January 28, 2025 in McKinsey

A McKinsey report from 2025 explores the transformative potential of AI in the workplace, comparing it to the Industrial Revolution. It emphasizes that while companies are investing in AI, few have achieved full integration, or AI maturity. The study, inspired by Reid Hoffman's book Superagency, finds employees are ready for AI adoption but leadership is lagging. The report identifies key challenges such as speed versus safety, and the need for greater transparency. It then suggests strategies for leaders to rewire their companies, embrace bigger ambitions, and capture AI's value by addressing operational headwinds and empowering employees. Ultimately, the report argues AI's success depends on visionary leadership, strategic transformation, and a focus on human agency to unlock unprecedented innovation.

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