Emerging Tech

Minnesota leveraged Google AI to create a multilingual virtual assistant. Data from a records request reveals how it’s really being used by a diverse population and potential limitations with the technology.

An innovative solution is being piloted in Surprise, Ariz., leveraging 3D-printing technology to reduce and reuse plastic waste. The ultimate goal is to help enable a circular economy in the region.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s latest executive order on artificial intelligence targets the use of the technology in the classroom and offers standards to safeguard state databases and individual data.

Using the complex task of playing the piano, a high-tech glove gives feedback to the wearer in real time as they work to re-establish mobility after experiencing a stroke.

More than a decade before ChatGPT, computer scientists at IBM spent years on an AI system hoping it could one day power a generalized tutor. Some say tutoring is a deeply human process that AI will not soon replicate.

The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration is looking for a solution capable of using generative AI to generate potential responses to taxpayers via telephone and live chat.

Technology and policy leaders discussed the highway infrastructure of the future at the recent Transportation Research Board annual meeting, offering up the benefits of using recycled materials and sending electricity through the pavement.

Plus, data storage on DNA goes commercial, AI proves it can predict the weather more accurately than standard meteorology tools, and Japanese researchers break Internet speed records.

A SpaceX vehicle recently carved its way through the cloudy skies on Florida’s Space Coast, sending up a four-person crew on a private mission to the International Space Station.

Pitkin County, home to Aspen, will soon have new tools for 911 dispatchers to use to locate lost backcountry skiers. The Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office will install a mapping technology to consolidate incoming emergency information.

The Aurora City Council is considering a $408,300 contract for satellite mapping services for departments throughout City Hall. The service would come through the California-based Environmental Systems Research Institute.

A glimpse into the future of claims handling as Wisconsin works to apply generative AI to a UI chatbot to provide customers with a more responsive experience. Meanwhile, Nevada plans to use a chatbot to help understand equity challenges and increase application accuracy.

Three cities in the Phoenix metro area are experimenting with on-demand microtransit offerings, both connecting to more traditional transit options and stepping in where none exists.

In a discussion about the near future, the writers and editors at Governing walk through the legislative issues to keep an eye on this year. Technology, budget and transportation top the list.

Commercial astronaut trips from Florida’s Space Coast are becoming more commonplace, with Axiom Space about to send up another crew from Kennedy Space Center this week.

Residents in Lehigh County can now provide 911 dispatchers with smartphone camera access to allow them to gather firsthand information about the particular emergency being reported.

Experts across the greater Phoenix region recently came together for a workshop hosted by the local consortium, The Connective, that provides resources to help local government understand the risks and rewards of AI.

Walmart will have the ability to make drone deliveries with its partners Wing and Zipline to 75% of Dallas-Fort Worth by the end of this year, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said Tuesday.