News That Caught Our Eye #84

Published on November 13, 2025

Summary

In the news this week, we examine the U.S. Air Force's plan to lease 3,000+ acres across five active bases to private data centers, raising questions about public oversight, security, and who benefits. We also hear from Tarjimly, which provides low-cost translation for refugees, on why trust, not automation, is guiding AI in humanitarian settings, and from the former CEO of Google about why algorithmic efficiency doesn’t solve the crises of democracy. Elsewhere, New York is enforcing safety rules for chatbot "companions," Europe is weighing regulatory concessions to big tech, and researchers are testing AI agents to vote on shareholder proxies. The week’s headlines remind us that the question isn’t whether AI can serve the public good, but whether our institutions can move fast enough to ensure it does.

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Listening to the Public with AI – November 19, 3:00 PM ET

AI for Governance

Shareholder Democracy with AI Representatives

Suyash Fulay, Sercan Demir, Galen Hines-Pierce, Hélène Landemore, Michiel A. Bakker on October 27, 2025 in arXiv

This paper proposes AI representatives—LLMs trained on individual shareholder preferences—to act as personalized proxies in corporate governance. Unlike pass-through voting or investor assemblies, AI agents could simulate informed, thoughtful decision-making at scale, aligning shareholder intent with action. The authors present shareholder democracy as a promising test case for AI-mediated representation more broadly, while also exploring ethical, legal, and democratic design challenges.

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AI for Governance

How AI Is Transforming the Way Government Works

Staff on November 7, 2025 in GovTech

Across Maryland, Georgia, and New Jersey, public officials say AI is helping governments do more with less, automating routine tasks, closing skills gaps, and freeing up staff for human-centered work. New Jersey’s AI sandbox and InnovateUS training program are highlighted as national models. Experts warn that without legislative guardrails and thoughtful design, AI could legitimize downsizing or deepen inequities, rather than strengthening government.

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AI for Governance

Governing AI: The Air Force’s AI Land Rush

Beth Simone Noveck on November 10, 2025 in Reboot Democracy Blog

The U.S. Air Force is leasing 3,000+ acres across five active bases to private AI data center developers, raising deep concerns about democratic oversight, security risks, and public benefit. Though legal under longstanding Enhanced Use Lease authority, the project, enabled by recent executive orders, marks a major shift of using defense land to accelerate AI infrastructure without community input or government procurement.

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AI for Governance

This Is No Way to Rule a Country

Eric Schmidt and on November 11, 2025 in New York Times

It’s a seductive trade: When democratic systems fail, simply replace them with algorithmic ones. But it’s the wrong reflex. Algorithms can optimize efficiency, but they can’t decide between competing values — the very choices that lie at the heart of democratic politics...Rather than replace democracy with A.I., we must instead use A.I. to reinvigorate democracy, making it more responsive, more deliberative and more worthy of public trust. Unfortunately, this isn’t the path we’re currently on.

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Governing AI

Hochul Reminds Tech Companies About New Law on AI Chatbots

Jeniece Roman on November 10, 2025 in WSHU

New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued an open letter to AI companies reminding them of a new state law regulating “AI companions”—chatbots designed to simulate human relationships. The law, part of the FY2026 budget, requires firms to detect signs of suicidal ideation or self-harm, intervene through crisis referrals, and remind users every three hours that they are not speaking with a human. Attorney General Letitia James will enforce compliance, with fines funding suicide prevention programs.

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News that caught our eye

Big Tech May Win Reprieve as EU Mulls Easing AI Rules, Document Shows

Foo Yun Chee on November 7, 2025 in Reuters

Apple, Meta, and other major firms may secure exemptions from parts of the EU AI Act as the European Commission considers targeted “simplification measures” under a forthcoming Digital Omnibus proposal. According to a leaked draft, changes could include grace periods on enforcement, relaxed registration requirements for narrow-use high-risk systems, and delayed mandates for AI-generated content labeling. The proposal follows lobbying pressure and concerns about regulatory overload.

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AI Infrastructure

AI Factories Face a Long Payback Period but Trillions in Upside

David Vellante, David Floyer, Jackie McGuire, Scott Hebner & Christophe Bertrand on November 9, 2025 in SiliconANGLE

SiliconANGLE’s latest analysis projects that the multitrillion-dollar AI factory boom won’t reach breakeven until 2032, despite accelerating investments and rising tokenized services. Analysts apply the “Productivity J-Curve” to explain early-stage inefficiencies, as capital expenditures far outpaces revenue due to data quality issues, labor shortages, and immature enterprise utilization. Long-term value will hinge on agentic platforms, open standards, and efficient infrastructure deployment. Yet today’s buildout is straining energy grids, skilled labor pools, and sustainability goals.

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AI and Public Safety

AI Tools for Law Enforcement Are Proliferating. Now Cities and States Are Setting Guardrails

Robyn Griggs Lawrence on November 7, 2025 in Smart Cities Dive

From AI-generated police reports to 911 triage bots, artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping law enforcement. At the recent IACP conference, vendors showcased tools for surveillance, wellness, and multilingual response, but new laws in California (SB 524) and Utah now require transparency when AI is used in official police reports. As adoption accelerates, with 90% of first responders now supporting AI, trust and accountability are emerging as central challenges for public safety agencies.

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AI and Problem Solving

Designing AI for Trust: Lessons from Tarjimly’s Translation Platform for Humanitarian Action

Atif Javed on November 12, 2025 in Reboot Democracy Blog

Tarjimly’s CEO reflects on the platform’s evolution from a volunteer-run Facebook Messenger service into a global translation network now powered in part by AI. But trust, not automation, remains the guiding design principle. AI helps route requests, but humans deliver empathy. In healthcare, humanitarian relief, and crisis response, Tarjimly shows how technology can amplify human connection.

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AI and Labor

New bipartisan bill would require companies to report AI job losses

Annie Palmer on November 5, 2025 in CNBC

A new bipartisan bill introduced by Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) would require companies and federal agencies to report workforce impacts caused by AI. The AI-Related Job Impacts Clarity Act mandates quarterly disclosures of job losses, hiring slowdowns, or other employment changes linked to AI adoption, with data compiled by the Department of Labor into a public report.

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AI and Labor

Labor Department social media campaign depicts a White male workforce

Meryl Kornfield on November 7, 2025 in Washington Post

A new Trump-era Labor Department campaign is drawing criticism for using retro-style, possibly AI-generated images that idealize White male laborers, sidelining the country’s diverse workforce. The illustrations accompany policies aimed at limiting foreign labor and promoting apprenticeships, as critics warn that the messaging marginalizes women, immigrants, and people of color.

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