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White House cautions against over-regulating AI in new guidelines
Today, the White House proposed 10 principles for federal agencies to consider when regulating artificial intelligence, Reuters reports. The guidelines stress limiting regulatory "overreach" and encourage Europe and other allies to "avoid heavy handed innovation-killing models."
DOJ launches probe of automakers that agreed to California emissions rules
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched an antitrust investigation into BMW, Ford, Honda and Volkswagen, the four automakers that came to a voluntary agreement with California to follow stricter fuel efficiency standards. After The Wall Street Journal broke the news, Ford and Honda confirmed they plan to cooperate with the investigation.
An independent report on Facebook’s alleged liberal bias tells us nothing
Conservatives have long lamented that Facebook has a liberal, or anti-conservative, bias. Since the 2016 election, the company has been grilled on the issue by the White House more than once. In an attempt to clear the air, Facebook enlisted an independent third-party to decide once and for all if it does indeed have an anti-conservative bias. Last year, it asked former Republican Senator Jon Kyl and his team at Covington & Burling LLP to conduct a review of the company's policies. The results are in, and for the most part, they tell us nothing.
White House invites tech companies to discuss violent online extremism
The White House plans to host a meeting with tech companies to discuss the rise of violent online extremism. According to The Washington Post, this is the Trump administration's first major engagement on the issue after the recent mass shooting in Texas left 22 people dead. Trump is scheduled to be at fundraisers in the Hamptons, so he may not attend.
Trump’s ‘Social Media Summit’ was a celebration of conspiracy theorists
President Donald Trump kicked off his Thursday morning by doing what he does best: tweeting. Amid a sea of missives, which ranged from attacks on the "Fake News Media" to the Mueller Report, he said it would be "a big and exciting day at the White House for Social Media." It was all a lead-up to his administration's first "Social Media Summit," an event that was announced back in June and took place yesterday. Despite being billed as a summit about social media, though, the Trump administration didn't invite anyone from the two biggest players in the space: Facebook and Twitter. Instead, it brought together people who are under the impression that these tech giants are censoring conservative voices on the internet.
The White House's social media summit may not include Facebook and Twitter
The White House's upcoming social media summit might be missing some key players when it goes ahead this week. Facebook and Twitter have not been invited to attend, according to sources who spoke with CNN.
The White House may host a social media summit next month
The White House will reportedly host a social media summit next month. According to The New York Times, White House spokesman Judd Deere said the meeting will "bring together digital leaders for a robust conversation on the opportunities and challenges of today's online environment." The White House has not officially announced the summit or confirmed who will attend, but the event is reportedly scheduled for July 11th.
The NSA says it's time to drop its massive phone-surveillance program
The National Security Agency (NSA) has formally recommended that the White House drop the phone surveillance program that collects information about millions of US phone calls and text messages. The Wall Street Journal reports that people familiar with the matter say the logistical and legal burdens of maintaining the program outweigh any intelligence benefits it brings.
White House launches site to highlight AI initiatives
Now that the US government has been ordered to prioritize AI, it's launching a website to promote its AI efforts. The newly available AI.gov showcases a number of initiatives over the years, including Obama-era moves like the strategic AI research plan as well as Trump-era initiatives like DARPA's quest to solve challenges through AI Next. To no one's surprise, the executive order plays a prominent role throughout -- this is ultimately an offshoot of the White House's site rather than a separate government entity.
Trump asks for $9.6 billion to bolster cybersecurity in 2020 budget
President Donald Trump has revealed his proposed budget for the 2020 fiscal year, which "supports the creation" of Space Force (USSF) as the sixth branch of the armed forces. The White House also hopes to bolster cybersecurity and NASA exploration missions.
Apple, IBM heads join White House panel on workforce automation
Apple CEO Tim Cook and IBM CEO Ginni Rometty will be among the company executives who will be joining a Trump administration advisory board set to deal with the effects of artificial intelligence and automation on the workforce. According to Reuters, the panel will be co-chaired by Ivanka Trump and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Board members will serve until 2020.
US government lays out strategy to speed up rural broadband deployment
The US government has unveiled a strategy called the American Broadband Initiative (ABI), which aims to speed up broadband deployment and bring faster, reliable internet access to tens of millions of Americans who don't yet have it. More than federal 20 agencies are involved with the project, which follows President Donald Trump signing an order last month to promote rural broadband.
Tweets will be official presidential records if the Covfefe Act passes
America's 45th president has a habit of writing and then deleting his social media posts and US Representative Mike Quigley wants him to stop. As such, Quigley on Monday introduced legislation to force the National Archives to include "social media" as part of the Presidential Records Act and he's calling it the Communications Over Various Feeds Electronically for Engagement, or "Covfefe" Act.
Trump administration is killing its open data portal
Reversing yet another Obama-era practice, the Trump administration announced on Friday that it will not only be keeping its visitor logs secret for five years after Trump leaves office, but will be shuttering the Open.gov portal. This is where the previous administration posted visitor logs, financial disclosures and data on White House staff.
Lawmakers demand answers from White House over Yahoo emails
Four dozen members of the US House of Representatives, acting as a bipartisan bloc, have requested that the Obama Administration brief them on allegations that Yahoo improperly scanned user emails at the behest of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
White House encourages local governments to embrace chatbots
The Obama Administration receives thousands of emails, phone calls and letters every day. And, since August, American citizens have been able to contact the president through Facebook as well, thanks the the White House's Messenger bot. Now, the administration is going a step forward and releasing the bot's source code onto the internet for anyone to use.
Go behind the scenes of the State of the Union with Snapchat
The White House announced today that it had joined Snapchat ahead of tomorrow's State of the Union address, the last before President Obama leaves office. Snapchat is a social site where users' fleeting posts disappear after just a few seconds. It boasts over 100 million active users, most of which weren't even old enough to vote when he was elected -- that is, they're under 25. Users can follow the president's posts by adding WhiteHouse or scanning the snapcode below.
White House says broadband is a 'Core Utility' just like power and water
Think you could survive in this day and age without access to a broadband connection? The White House has its doubts. A recent report from the Broadband Opportunity Council (under the auspices of the Oval Office) described broadband connectivity as an "essential infrastructure for communities" that "has steadily shifted from an optional amenity to a core utility" on par with water, electricity and sewers. According to the report, which was headed by the chairs of the US departments of Agriculture and Commerce, 51 million Americans lack access to download speeds beyond 25 Mbps. That's roughly a sixth of the national population.
Apple Pay will soon support federal payment cards and parks
Apple Pay has been expanding steadily since its launch last fall, but now it also has the support of the federal government. Speaking at the White House Cyber Security Summit today, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that Apple Pay will support federal payment cards later this year, including social security and those used by veterans. Cook also hinted that federal transactions -- like paying for tickets and gift shop items at national parks -- will also work with the platform. By making the announcement today, he's also making it clear that the government is pretty confident about Apple Pay's security capabilities. Unlike traditional credit card transactions, Apple's platform never reveals your full card number to merchants, and it also doesn't keep records of your purchases. "We can imagine a day in the not too distance future where your wallet becomes a remnant of the past," Cook said. "Your passport, your driver's license, and other important documents can be digitally stored in a way that's safe, secure, and easy to access."
Obama pledges to 'protect a free and open internet,' tackle climate change
Leading up to the State of the Union, President Barack Obama criss-crossed the nation offering proposals on everything from free college, to cybersecurity and consumer privacy. But the president kept the details of these plans to a minimum during his address. Instead he used his pulpit to lay out a broader agenda, one that includes preserving Net Neutrality, combating global warming, promoting education and entrepreneurship.
