Emerging Tech

The Big Easy isn’t the only city using chatbots to bridge equity gaps and provide more residents with the answers they seek on a 24/7 basis. Smarter chatbots are finding their places in public service.

Through a $65,000 grant, and in partnership with the training studio Notiontheory and the software company Unity, the school is starting a spatial computing program in which kids can create applications and environments.

The National Science Foundation, US Ignite and other partners announced the launch of a wireless communications testbed in rural central Iowa to explore expanding broadband access to rural America and other innovations.

There is a concern that Bitcoin machines could be used for money laundering, experts say, as Northwest Ohio has become one of the United States' largest concentrations of Bitcoin dispensers.

In comments at the CoMotion MIAMI transportation and urbanism conference, LADOT General Manager Seleta Reynolds put forward a vision of expanded access to affordable and equitable transportation in her city and beyond.

The Harford County Sheriff's Office has started using drones for search-and-rescue missions and other tasks. The drones were purchased using seized resources from convicted criminals.

The Montgomery County Public Schools district is transitioning all 1,400 school buses to electric models, aggressively retiring diesel buses as more districts explore funding and cleaner transportation options.

As the Smart Columbus project closes out its five-year run, the city is preparing for a new smart city future, building on the projects, successes and lessons learned to begin exploring innovations around renewable energy and closing the digital divide.

In recent months, global auto manufacturers have released plans to electrify their vehicle fleets by 2030 or 2035, setting up a race to see who can most quickly shift entirely away from producing vehicles powered by gasoline.

While so-called sandbox programs do draw in new businesses and industries to a state, some fear that companies will use the opportunity to take advantage of consumers with unfair lending practices and the like.

Relay, an autonomous shuttle program launched in Fairfax County, Va., in October 2020, is offering officials a better understanding of how driverless shuttles navigate live traffic and how to improve work zone safety.

The state’s Department of Banking issued an industry notice last week to let state-chartered banks know that they have the authority to provide custody services for virtual currencies, like bitcoin.

When police overuse DNA databases and facial recognition, they violate rights, often disproportionately. Policy should limit use of DNA databases and facial recognition to cases involving significant danger to society.

New research from the Union of Concerned Scientists found that as electric utilities phase out fossil fuels like coal, the electric cars they recharge far outpace gas-powered cars when considering overall greenhouse gas emissions.

Plus, Baltimore unveils a new data dashboard related to traffic stops; a Tennessee accelerator pushes to boost tech companies in the state; New Mexico seeks to improve Internet access and more.

New funding approved by the U.S. Senate will go toward research and development and strengthening regional economic development, manufacturing and supply chains — if the bill survives in the House.

Artificial intelligence is used in a host of algorithms in medicine, banking and other major industries. But as it has proliferated, studies have shown that AI can be biased against people of color.

A $200 million partnership between the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and IBM will create the Discovery Accelerator Institute, a collaborative space for studying uses for emerging technologies.