There will be lots of questions about how AI is actually changing the labor market. The lesson over and over again has been AI arrives, it becomes such a big deal, but it changes all of the industries it touches,
It's unclear how Melania's initiative will follow her goals of protecting children from the harms of AI or equipping them for a workforce shaped by the technology. However, my source in the industry tells me the first lady's involvement is expected to lead to "big commitments from a bunch of these companies" beyond the multibillion-dollar investment figures they've already promised the Trump administration.
In documents reviewed by Nextgov/FCW, the proposed regulatory sandbox program created within OSTP would allow participating AI companies to receive temporary exemption from external AI regulations. These temporary waivers would be available for "one or more covered provisions of an applicable agency in order to test, experiment, or temporarily provide to consumers artificial intelligence products or services or artificial intelligence development methods on a limited basis without being subject to the enforcement, licensing, or authorization requirements of such covered provisions."
Washington's tech landscape has been reshaped by a whirlwind of political change, regulatory reversals, and an AI gold rush. President Trump's takeover of the Federal Trade Commission is seeking to combat "tech censorship," while the Defense Department's $1.8 billion AI investment has contractors racing to capitalize on the government's artificial-intelligence ambitions-even as some industry giants face federal scrutiny. The AI industry has been busy lobbying Congress to set an innovation-first agenda, with lighter regulations versus restrictive oversight. But some company heads are calling for guardrails.
President Donald Trump convened some of Silicon Valley's most influential figures Thursday evening at the White House, hosting a high-profile dinner that underscored the tech industry's evolving relationship with his administration. The gathering in the newly renovated Rose Garden brought together 33 attendees, including CEOs from major technology companies, venture capitalists, and administration officials. With 13 billionaires in attendance and many others worth millions of dollars, the event was easily one of the wealthiest gatherings in the history of the White House.
Picture this: You ask an AI to show you images of judges, and it depicts only 3 percent as women - even though 34 percent of federal judges are women. Or imagine an AI that's more likely to recommend harsh criminal sentences for people who use expressions rooted in Black vernacular cultures. Now imagine that same AI instructed to ignore climate impacts or treating Russian propaganda as credible information.
Midterm watch... The Wall Street Journal reported that Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI's Greg Brockman are among those who've helped launch a new super PAC network, called Leading the Future. The focus, of course, is AI. Ultimately, this isn't a surprise-on one hand, the $100 million already mobilized to shape AI policy and regulation feels like a lot, but that number absolutely dwarfs the billions a16z manages and that OpenAI has raised.
"As the organization grows, we are unionizing across newsrooms and teams to ensure our mission and vision align with employees' realities," the Signal Ohio News Workers Guild wrote in a statement signed by 15 union-eligible staffers. The journalists said their priorities for unionization include "transparent, equitable and sustainable pay," including cost-of-living raises; hiring practices that reflect Signal's "founding ethos of being accountable to our communities"; professional development; and a say in newsroom policies, including the use of artificial intelligence.
Over 80% of Middlebury College students use generative AI for coursework, according to a recent survey I conducted with my colleague and fellow economist Zara Contractor. This is one of the fastest technology adoption rates on record, far outpacing the 40% adoption rate among U.S. adults, and it happened in less than two years after ChatGPT's public launch. Although we surveyed only one college, our results align with similar studies, providing an emerging picture of the technology's use in higher education.
Anthropic now permits job applicants to utilize AI for enhancing their submissions, aiming to balance AI proficiency with authentic human skill evaluation. Candidates can collaborate with AI to refine résumés, cover letters, and interview preparations.
