News That Caught Our Eye #56
Published by Dane Gambrell and Angelique Casem on May 1, 2025
In the news this week: Miami-Dade County released its AI strategy update, showcasing progress in implementing public-facing AI pilots while preparing for broader deployment across transportation, emergency services, and environmental management. The House passed the bipartisan "Take It Down Act" to protect victims of deepfake and revenge pornography. Trump pushes out over 200 Biden-era AI experts creating what former officials call "a waste of federal resources." California's Governor Newsom announced GenAI initiatives to reduce highway congestion and improve call centers, while Brazil's AI-powered social security app wrongly rejects legitimate claims. The UAE launches an "AI-Powered Legislative Office" as researchers propose "Digital Twin" technology to test democratic designs. Climate justice advocates raise alarms about X's Grok AI energy consumption in Memphis. New tools like StaffLink assist Congressional staffers, while reports emerge of police departments using "AI-powered undercover bots" to monitor college protesters. Read more in this week's AI News That Caught Our Eye.
In the news this week
- AI and Elections:Free, fair and frequent
- AI and Education:Preparing people for an AI-driven world
- AI for Governance:Smarter public institutions through machine intelligence.
- AI and Public Engagement:Bolstering participation
- Governing AI:Setting the rules for a fast-moving technology.
- AI and Public Safety:Law enforcement, disaster prevention and preparedness
- AI Infrastructure:Computing resources, data systems and energy use
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Join us for upcoming events!
- April 30, 2025, 2:00 PM ET: Navigating Tech Governance in 2025: Policy, Procurement & AI, Cassandra Madison, COO, Center for Public Sector AI & Senior Advisor for Gov Capacity & Delivery, Madison Insights, Josiah Raiche, Chief Data and AI Officer, State of Vermont
- May 1, 2025, 2:00 PM ET: Innovating in the Public Interest: Learning and Pivoting, Anita McGahan, Senior Research Scientist, The Burnes Center for Social Change
- May 7, 2025, 2:00 PM ET: Governing Through Uncertainty: Using Data, Digital Tools, and Generative AI to Strengthen Public Service, Neil Kleiman, Professor, Northeastern University & Faculty Director, InnovateUS, Lamar Gardere, Executive Director, The Data Center
- May 8, 2025, 2:00 PM ET: AI Prompts Unleashed: Transforming the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Your Policy Analysis, Program Evaluation, and Community Engagement, Deborah Stine, Founder and Chief Instructor, Science and Technology Policy Academy
- May 13, 2025, 3:30 PM ET: Cómo Redactar una Política de IA Generativa para tu Jurisdicción (How to Write a Generative AI Policy for Your Jurisdiction), Santiago Garces, Chief Information Officer, City of Boston
Learn more about upcoming events here.
AI and Elections
AI and Elections
Would you let AI vote for you?
“In the ever-accelerating intersection of technology and democracy, few questions carry more profound implications than this: Should artificial intelligence help cast our votes? As AI systems become increasingly sophisticated and embedded in daily life, this once-theoretical question has rapidly transformed into an imminent policy consideration with far-reaching constitutional dimensions. The democratic landscape already bears the unmistakable imprint of artificial intelligence. Political campaigns deploy AI-generated avatars tailored to specific demographic groups, crafting personalized appeals that would be impossible at human scale. Campaign strategists harness AI to generate increasingly persuasive messaging. Election administrators experiment with AI tools to detect fraudulent ballots with unprecedented accuracy. These applications represent merely the opening chapter in AI's democratic integration.”
Read articleAI and Education
AI and Education
AI Governance Watch: The Executive Order on AI in Education: Progress or Paradox?
“The White House's new executive order on AI education promises to prepare American students for an AI-driven future through challenges, partnerships, and teacher training. Yet these initiatives come alongside dismantling the Department of Education, cutting education funding, and reducing research grants – creating a fundamental contradiction. For AI education to succeed, we need consistent funding, teacher support, research investment, equity safeguards, and public AI governance – not just corporate partnerships.”
Read articleAI for Governance
AI for Governance
ICE Is Paying Palantir $30 Million to Build ‘ImmigrationOS’ Surveillance Platform
“Immigration and Customs Enforcement is paying software company Palantir $30 million to provide the agency with ‘near real-time visibility’ on people self-deporting from the United States, according to a contract justification published in a federal register on Thursday. The tool would also help ICE choose who to deport, giving special priority to ‘visa overstays,’ the document shows…The agency says in the document that these new capabilities will be under a wholly new platform called the Immigration Lifecycle Operating System, or ImmigrationOS. Palantir is expected to provide a prototype of ImmigrationOS by September 25, 2025, and the contract is scheduled to last at least through September 2027. ICE’s update to the contract comes as the Trump administration is demanding that thousands of immigrants ‘self-deport,’ or leave the US voluntarily.”
Read articleAI for Governance
The InnovateUS Podcast
On this show, InnovateUS Program Coordinator Jessica Silverman will be interviewing experts and public sector innovators on how we can drive meaningful change in government to provide more equitable and effective public services. In the first episode, Anita McGahan talked about how government organizations can effectively partner with the private sector to drive mission-aligned outcomes. Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Read articleAI for Governance
Newsom announces AI-driven efforts to help state reduce traffic jams, improve road safety
California Governor Newsom announced the state’s plans to use GenAI to analyze traffic data with the goal of reducing highway congestion and improving road safety, and deploy an AI assistant to help staff craft responses to tax inquiries in a state call center in partnership with major tech firms. The initiative follows the Governor’s 2023 executive order which directed agencies to explore the implementation of Generative AI to improve state operations. Read the state’s press release about its new AI programs here.
Read articleAI for Governance
Introducing StaffLink: An AI Assistant for Junior Congressional Staff
“StaffLink, a new, AI-powered chatbot designed especially for junior Congressional staffers, is an open-source project created by the nonpartisan nonprofit POPVOX Foundation in partnership with POPVOX, a nonpartisan civic tech platform. StaffLink helps staffers navigate the daily challenges of Capitol Hill. This user-friendly chatbot provides immediate guidance on Congressional operations, drawing on publicly available information about Congressional operations from the Modernization Staff Association (MSA), the Committee on House Administration, and the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer.” The StaffLink beta test is currently live at stafflink.popvox.com. Once approved by the House, it will also be available at stafflinkbot.org.
Read articleAI for Governance
Trump Pushes Out AI Experts Hired By Biden
“Donald Trump wants the U.S. to be a leader in artificial intelligence. In January, he signed an executive order intended to enhance America’s ‘dominance’ in AI. In early April, his Administration directed every federal agency to find and hire more people with experience designing and deploying artificial intelligence. On Wednesday, he signed yet another executive order on AI, this one about integrating it into the nation's schools. ‘AI is where it seems to be at,’ Trump said. But Trump’s erratic purge of the federal workforce has undermined those very efforts. The Biden Administration moved aggressively in its final 18 months to convince more than 200 AI technology experts to forgo the private sector for the federal workforce, through what was called the ‘National AI Talent Surge.’ The new hires were deployed throughout the government and used AI to find ways to reduce Social Security wait times, simplify tax filings, and help veterans track their medical care. Most of them were quickly pushed out by the new administration, multiple former federal officials tell TIME. The shift, say the former officials, represents an enormous waste of federal resources, as agencies across the Trump Administration are looking to draw workers with the very experience they just let go. It also means agencies may have to increasingly rely on costlier outside companies for that expertise. The White House and the Office of Management and Budget did not respond to requests for comment.”
Read articleAI for Governance
Brazil’s AI-powered social security app is wrongly rejecting claims
“When Josélia de Brito, a former sugarcane worker from a remote town in northeast Brazil, filed for her retirement benefits through the mandated government app, she expected her claim would be processed quickly. Instead, her request was instantly turned down because the system identified her as a man. It was especially frustrating for de Brito, who had been requesting sick pay for years via the National Social Security Institute’s artificial intelligence-powered app, Meu INSS. De Brito had worked in the fields since she was a teenager, and suffered from a herniated disc, scoliosis, and fibromyalgia — chronic illnesses that made her eligible for social benefits. But even minor errors in her claims filed through the app had led to numerous rejections, with few options for recourse ... Brazil's social security institute, known as INSS, added AI to its app in 2018 in an effort to cut red tape and speed up claims. The office, known for its long lines and wait times, had around 2 million pending requests for everything from doctor’s appointments to sick pay to pensions to retirement benefits at the time. While the AI-powered tool has since helped process thousands of basic claims, it has also rejected requests from hundreds of people like de Brito — who live in remote areas and have little digital literacy — for minor errors.”
Read articleAI for Governance
Global AI and Democracy Watch: UAE's AI-Powered Legislative Office: An Experiment Worth Watching
“The UAE has announced its ‘Legislative Intelligence Office,’ promising to transform lawmaking through AI by integrating legislation, judicial rulings, and public services. While the system could potentially identify contradictions in laws and model policy impacts, serious questions remain about governance transparency, data quality, and accountability. This experiment deserves attention as legislatures worldwide struggle with information overload, but we must ask whether efficiency will come at the cost of deliberation and public participation.”
Read articleAI for Governance
Research Radar: Using Machine Learning to Map State Capacity
“A new AI-enabled research project designed to help measure state ability to exercise authority was highlighted. This experiment with designing ways to model state power could transform how we understand and strengthen democracies. Norwegian researchers have created detailed maps of state capacity at the local level using machine learning to combine citizen surveys with geographic data across Africa. Their approach predicts government effectiveness in areas without direct measurements, offering new ways to target democracy interventions where they're most needed. This method could help identify representation gaps in communities, though challenges with data limitations and potential misuse remain.”
Read articleAI and Public Engagement
AI and Public Engagement
A Replica for our Democracies? On Using Digital Twins to Enhance Deliberative Democracy
“Effective deliberative democracy requires carefully designed frameworks for selecting participants, facilitating discussions, and making decisions. Finding the ideal design for specific contexts is challenging, as real-world testing and lab experiments are expensive and difficult to replicate. This paper proposes using Digital Twin technology as a solution—creating virtual models that simulate democratic processes using real or synthetic data. These digital environments allow researchers and policymakers to test various ‘what-if’ scenarios for deliberative designs without real-world constraints. The approach enables systematic analysis of different democratic structures while acknowledging limitations that require further research.”
Read articleAI and Public Engagement
Deliberative Approaches to Inclusive Governance: An Essay Series Part of the Democratic Legitimacy for AI Initiative
“Democracy has undergone profound changes over the past decade, shaped by rapid technological, social, and political transformations. Across the globe, citizens are demanding more meaningful and sustained engagement in governance—especially around emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), which increasingly shape the contours of public life. From world-leading experts in deliberative democracy, civic technology, and AI governance we introduce a seven-part essay series exploring how deliberative democratic processes like citizen’s assemblies and civic tech can strengthen AI governance. The essays follow from a workshop on ‘Democratic Legitimacy for AI: Deliberative Approaches to Inclusive Governance’ held in Vancouver in March 2025, in partnership with Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue. The series and workshop were generously supported by funding from the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), Mila, and Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue.”
Read articleAI and Public Engagement
Request for Information on the Development of a 2025 National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research and Development (R&D) Strategic Plan
“On behalf of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) National Coordination Office (NCO) welcomes input from all interested parties on how the previous administration's National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan (2023 Update) can be rewritten so that the United States can secure its position as the unrivaled world leader in artificial intelligence by performing R&D to accelerate AI-driven innovation, enhance U.S. economic and national security, promote human flourishing, and maintain the United States' dominance in AI while focusing on the Federal government's unique role in AI research and development (R&D) over the next 3 to 5 years. Through this Request for Information (RFI), the NITRD NCO encourages the contribution of ideas from the public, including AI researchers, industry leaders, and other stakeholders directly engaged in or affected by AI R&D. Responses previously submitted to the RFI on the Development of an AI Action Plan will also be considered in updating the National AI R&D Strategic Plan.”
Read articleAI and Public Engagement
Tackling civic participation challenges with emerging technologies
“This paper offers a comprehensive examination of the role emerging digital technologies can play in improving citizen participation. It looks, in particular, at the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence, blockchain, and virtual reality. It assesses how these tools can be used to tackle specific challenges in citizen participation, while acknowledging the inherent complexities and risks. The paper presents adaptable and replicable solutions that could inspire public authorities across the OECD and beyond. It finds that AI, blockchain and virtual reality technologies can be used to i) reduce barriers to participation, ii) increase capacities in government, and iii) ultimately empower citizens with more intelligible and accountable participatory processes. The paper concludes with a way forward outlining key actions for governments to effectively use emerging technologies to, ultimately, improve citizen participation and deliberation.” Sign up for the webinar on May 7th: https://meetoecd1.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Gwmem38CSQ2AtaKxNX96PQ#/registration
Read articleGoverning AI
Governing AI
House passes bill aimed at protecting victims of deepfake and revenge porn
“The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the ‘Take It Down’ Act, which aims to protect Americans from deepfake and revenge pornography. Lawmakers voted 409-2 to pass the bill – which boosts protections for victims of non-consensual sharing of sexual images, including content generated by artificial intelligence known as deepfake porn – and it will go to President Donald Trump’s desk for signature. The Senate passed the bill in February after it previously garnered bipartisan support during the last session of Congress. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas introduced the bill… according to Cruz’s office, the bill ‘would criminalize the publication of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), including AI-generated NCII (or ‘deepfake pornography’), and require social media and similar websites to have in place procedures to remove such content upon notification from a victim.’”
Read articleGoverning AI
Two Futures of AI Regulation under the Trump Administration
“This article examines potential regulatory pathways for AI in the United States following the Trump administration's 2025 revocation of the Biden-era AI Executive Order. We outline two competing governance scenarios: decentralized state-level regulation (with minimal federal oversight) and centralized federal dominance (through legislative pre-emption). We critically evaluate each model's policy implications, constitutional challenges, and practical trade-offs, particularly regarding innovation and state autonomy. We argue that AI's technological characteristics and context-dependent nature complicate achieving regulatory coherence amid competing federal and state interests. As a result, even under the Trump administration's broader deregulatory agenda, targeted federal intervention may remain necessary.”
Read articleGoverning AI
Report on Miami-Dade County’s Policy on Artificial Intelligence
A second annual report updates on Miami-Dade County's AI policy implementation following Resolution No. R-659-23. It highlights progress in three areas: strategic AI innovation, workforce development, and ethical governance. Key achievements include launching AI beta pilots, forming an AI Advisory Council, and creating a resource hub. The County is using a phased approach: readiness, acceleration, and optimization. Current and future AI use cases span public services, predictive maintenance, and environmental analytics. The report emphasizes responsible AI practices—ensuring data privacy, transparency, and human oversight—aiming to make Miami-Dade a national leader in ethical, effective AI adoption in local government.
Read articleAI and Public Safety
AI and Public Safety
This ‘College Protester’ Isn’t Real. It’s an AI-Powered Undercover Bot for Cops
“Massive Blue, the New York-based company that is selling police departments this technology, calls its product Overwatch, which it markets as an ‘AI-powered force multiplier for public safety’ that ‘deploys lifelike virtual agents, which infiltrate and engage criminal networks across various channels.’ According to a presentation obtained by 404 Media, Massive Blue is offering cops these virtual personas that can be deployed across the internet with the express purpose of interacting with suspects over text messages and social media. Massive Blue lists ‘border security,’ ‘school safety,’ and stopping ‘human trafficking’ among Overwatch’s use cases. The technology—which as of last summer had not led to any known arrests—demonstrates the types of social media monitoring and undercover tools private companies are pitching to police and border agents. Concerns about tools like Massive Blue have taken on new urgency considering that the Trump administration has revoked the visas of hundreds of students, many of whom have protested against Israel’s war in Gaza.”
Read articleAI Infrastructure
AI Infrastructure
Data Commons: The Missing Infrastructure for Public Interest Artificial Intelligence
“Artificial intelligence is celebrated as the defining technology of our time. From ChatGPT to Copilot and beyond, generative AI systems are reshaping how we work, learn, and govern. But behind the headline-grabbing breakthroughs lies a fundamental problem: The data these systems depend on to produce useful results that serve the public interest is increasingly out of reach. Without access to diverse, high-quality datasets, AI models risk reinforcing bias, deepening inequality, and returning less accurate, more imprecise results. Yet, access to data remains fragmented, siloed, and increasingly enclosed. What was once open—government records, scientific research, public media—is now locked away by proprietary terms, outdated policies, or simple neglect. We are entering a data winter just as AI's influence over public life is heating up. This isn’t just a technical glitch. It’s a structural failure. What we urgently need is new infrastructure: data commons. A data commons is a shared pool of data resources—responsibly governed, managed using participatory approaches, and made available for reuse in the public interest. Done correctly, commons can ensure that communities and other networks have a say in how their data is used, that public interest organizations can access the data they need, and that the benefits of AI can be applied to meet societal challenges.”
Read articleAI Infrastructure
Grok, What Happens in Memphis When You’re Asked a Question?
“When users on X query the platform’s Grok AI chatbot, one bit of a massive computer housed in a South Memphis industrial facility whirs to life. Colossus, as the supercomputer is known, is comprised of 100,000 processors that fill a building the size of 13 football fields. Running such a massive computer to supply users with a variety of AI slop requires an incredible amount of energy, and climate justice advocates in Memphis say they now know just where it’s all coming from: as many as 35 gas-powered turbine generators, which together can generate the equivalent amount of electricity, and emissions, as an entire power plant. The turbines also emit significant amounts of formaldehyde, a carcinogen, and other toxic chemicals.”
Read articleAI Infrastructure
Report on Miami-Dade County’s Policy on Artificial Intelligence
This second annual report updates on Miami-Dade County's AI policy implementation following Resolution No. R-659-23. It highlights progress in three areas: strategic AI innovation, workforce development, and ethical governance. Key achievements include launching AI beta pilots, forming an AI Advisory Council, and creating a resource hub. The County is using a phased approach: readiness, acceleration, and optimization. Current and future AI use cases span public services, predictive maintenance, and environmental analytics. The report emphasizes responsible AI practices—ensuring data privacy, transparency, and human oversight—aiming to make Miami-Dade a national leader in ethical, effective AI adoption in local government.
Read articleA Project Of
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