Policy

A ninth-grade teacher at Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia saw only positives to keeping phones out of reach during class, and students themselves attested to their improved concentration and engagement.

A handful of lawmakers say they plan to press the issue of the threat to humans posed by generative artificial intelligence after a recent bipartisan Senate report largely sidestepped the matter.

Legislation awaiting Gov. Josh Green’s signature would have the state chief information officer no longer report directly to the governor. Critics say this could diminish the role and have a chilling effect on innovation.

One bill will prohibit social media companies from providing "addictive" content feeds to minors without parent consent, and the other will prohibit websites from processing a minor's personal data without consent.

Two newly introduced bills in the Pennsylvania Legislature would prohibit the use of artificial intelligence to impersonate political candidates in campaign literature and advertising.

A former mayor of Compton, Calif., who oversaw the country’s largest experiment with universal basic income, thinks a new software platform can help bootstrap underserved communities.

A multibillion-dollar plan to develop 10,000 miles of broadband infrastructure has hit financial headwinds, forcing the state to consider what not to build. Some construction is already underway.

The Federal Communications Commission’s new Schools and Libraries Cybersecurity Pilot Program will use universal service funds to provide cybersecurity help to K-12 districts while collecting data on what they need.

Gov. Josh Shapiro has signed Senate Bill 37, bipartisan legislation that makes Pennsylvania the 29th state to ban distracted driving. It prohibits using handheld devices when driving.

Plus, Washington launched a digital equity dashboard, Kansas announced funding for digital literacy, a Center for Tribal Digital Sovereignty was launched, and more.

The federal government will provide a new cybersecurity guide, access to IT experts, free membership to a multistate cybersecurity center and a service to block computers from connecting to malicious domains.

During a recent joint hearing by the election committees in the Senate and Assembly, officials voiced grave concerns about election security in the age of AI. Voters, they feared, could be deceived by technology during this election season.

State lawmakers have approved three bills that refresh areas of the law pertaining to minors, and to artificially generated images of “sexual depiction” – redefining such depictions to include those generated by AI.

Members of Congress are finding the debate over controlling artificial intelligence touches on matters like freedom of speech, and balancing its ability to innovate with its potential for deception and fraud.

The Future of Privacy Forum has launched its new Center for Artificial Intelligence. It aims to help serve policymakers, companies and other organizations in creating AI governance strategies.

Chief administrator of Indian River Central School District in New York said he welcomes the idea of a statewide policy restricting the use of smartphones during class, which have become controversial and distracting.

Where could the digital divide deepen? Government Technology analyzed White House data to pinpoint the areas most impacted by the end of a federal subsidy that saved millions $30-75 a month on their Internet bill.

To build an ethical framework for AI in state government, New Jersey is surveying its employees to engage them in the process of creating a system that uses AI to enhance services and empower workers.