Emerging Tech

As government grapples with how to make practical use of generative AI, one avenue for the new technology could be helping cities ensure regulatory compliance from companies bidding for new construction contracts.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele announced this week that ShotSpotter technology would be implemented to help curb gun violence in the boroughs of Pottstown and Norristown.

The ALERTCalifornia network has the capability to funnel data to researchers studying the multiple environmental causes of wildfires, while also granting the public and first responders real-time visual access to detect threats.

Scientists have theorized that in the distant past, a small fern called Azolla could have consumed huge quantities of carbon, helping scrub the atmosphere of greenhouse gases and thereby cooling the planet.

It’s the first time Amazon has offered this type of service for gov tech — and perhaps not the last. What’s behind this particular cloud-based push, and what does it mean for the broader world of gov tech?

The Transportation Security Administration has deployed four next-generation Credential Authentication Technology devices at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. They are able to quickly compare travelers’ facial features to their IDs.

Whether or not they agree with calls to halt innovation, many professors and computer scientists in higher education share the feelings of tech leaders that emerging AI needs oversight and regulation.

A new generation of AI-enabled classroom tools might help teachers and students move beyond the old “factory model” of education, which teaches all students at the same pace, to a more personalized model.

Chatbots driven by artificial intelligence might help schools scale tutoring programs and act as a sort of support staff for tutoring, but they're still prone to mistakes and can't pick up on subtle emotional cues.

San Diego-based energy corporation General Atomics has announced a partnership with Tokamak Energy, one of a growing number of private companies seeking to tap the vast but so far elusive potential of nuclear fusion.

West Virginia CISO Danielle Cox has embedded RFID chips in her fingernails. She finds ease-of-use advantages and minimal downsides. Here’s her story, including why and how it’s done. 

Artificial intelligence looks like a political campaign manager’s dream because it could tune its persuasion efforts to millions of people individually — but it could be a nightmare for democracy.

NASA talked publicly Wednesday about the work of its independent study team formed last year to take a new look at “events in the sky that cannot be identified as aircraft or as known natural phenomenon.”

The Walpole Police Department is finalizing its policy for the drone it bought last year. The department has been using it off and on since last summer, and some have voiced privacy concerns about the technology.

Executives from some of the leading companies in the AI space have issued an intentionally vague warning meant to “open up discussion” around the rapidly evolving technology. The statement is another in a long line of warnings about the potential dangers of unchecked AI.

Experts say AI-enabled programs can help shoulder the burden of tutoring and improve it in some ways, but they have the potential to give inaccurate information and can't replace student-tutor relationships.

Does your local government need a stance on generative AI? Boston encourages staff’s “responsible experimentation,” Seattle’s interim policy outlines cautions, and King County begins considering what responsible generative AI use might be.

Figuring out how to regulate AI is a difficult challenge, and that’s even before tackling the problem of the small number of big companies that control the technology.