Emerging Tech

The environmental costs of using artificial intelligence tools is an area of growing concern for government technology officials. Transparency from vendors can shed light on their energy and water usage.

Officials in Austin, Texas, received a racially targeted public comment during a recent City Council meeting, generated by artificial intelligence. They are now working to ensure this time is reserved for actual constituents.

The U.S. Department of Energy has chosen Nevada Gold Mines to get as much as $95 million for a solar project. It intends to construct solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage systems at mines in Humboldt and Lander counties.

Created by Gov. Phil Murphy in October 2023, the group wrapped up last month by issuing a required report with recommendations. It could be re-formed if needed, but the state’s work in artificial intelligence continues.

The president-elect is expected to take a predominantly deregulatory approach to technology, and to aggressively pursue foreign cyber threat actors. He returns to office in a time of international tension in cyber space.

The award, part of the federal CHIPS Act, will aid a company in business since 1986. Powerex may be one of the last such vertically integrated entities in the U.S., creating silicon chips for power systems in MRI machines and elsewhere.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded Intel more than $7.8 billion under the CHIPS incentives initiatives for commercial fabrication facilities. The company has said it needs the money to build semiconductor fabrications plants in the Columbus, Ohio, area.

Cache County, located in the northern part of the state, wanted to move beyond spreadsheets and papers in seeking federal funding for playgrounds and other facilities. Its new solution offers a unified view.

The multiagency group will facilitate the research and testing of advanced artificial intelligence models in vital areas of national security and public safety. Its membership is expected to expand.

Sacramento Regional Transit is poised to deploy a new payment system in coming months, using technology familiar in the retail world. The agency will preserve older ways to pay, and offer discounts for veterans and seniors.

The state first published its policy and procedure for generative artificial intelligence in March. Since then, officials made several updates to address the changing needs this type of technology creates.

The Florida city’s newest technology is an effort to bring search further in the 21st century via a Polimorphic tool. A city official talks about use cases and lessons learned — experiences that could guide other towns.

A final deal with GlobalFoundries will expand a chipmaking plant in Saratoga County, N.Y., and update a smaller plant in Vermont. It’s the second final deal this week from the CHIPS and Science Act, which is providing $39 billion to chipmakers for U.S. production.

A new survey of federal chief data officers conducted by the Data Foundation and Deloitte reveals the need for more governmentwide clarity and guidance in the face of rapid artificial intelligence growth.

A Government Technology data analysis of the Chula Vista, Calif., police department’s six-year groundbreaking drone-as-first-responder program reveals impacts on response times, officer safety and citizen privacy.

The former home of the Kansas City Star’s printing presses, an eight-story glass building spanning two downtown city blocks, is slated to become the flagship data center for software and data hosting firm Patmos in a $1 billion project.

A new series of recommendations from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is designed to enable cloud providers, AI developers, public-sector entities and others to integrate AI while balancing risk and opportunity.

The National League of Cities released a report this week outlining strategic ways municipalities are using artificial intelligence to better serve constituents. An accompanying toolkit aims to facilitate analysis.