Cybersecurity & Tech

Americans for Responsible Innovation Are talking about the legal implications for the Mid-December 2025 Executive Order that preempts state AI laws. They say the executive order relies on “flimsy and overly broad interpretation of the Constitution’s Interstate Commerce Clause cooked up by venture capitalists.” They also point to several failed federal attempts of AI preemption.

Route Fifty | Trump AI preemption order likely to face legal challenges

According to the Data Center Watch organization, $98 B in data center development was delayed in Q2 of 2025 due to community opposition.

@perfectunion

Start up Tavus has an AI Santa that people can talk to, and people talk. They talk to AI Santa a lot, as in for hours a day. How do people have time for this? Or is it kids? I don’t think Swedish tomte (Santa) would do this, Swedes are too practical. Tomte would be too busy making sure his goats are fed.

Tech Crunch | AI startup Tavus founder says users talk to its AI Santa ‘for hours’ per day

Remember that talk about an AI executive order just before Thanksgiving. It’s here and seeks federal preemption with all caps screaming.  ENSURING A NATIONAL POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

A privacy expert is working on phone service that protects your identity. Anonymous phone service, eh? Talk about an issue screaming for legislative action. @wired

Nividia is backing a space data center start up from Starcloud. Starcloud’s tagline: As launch costs fall, data centers in space will leverage 24/7 solar energy and radiative cooling, rapidly deploying to gigawatt-scale, avoiding permitting constraints on Earth. @cnbc

“MIT Sloan professor and 2024 Nobel laureate Simon Johnson has been appointed as an AI Ambassador to the United Kingdom, alongside business and government leaders, under the U.K. government’s new plan to harness artificial intelligence to drive economic growth and innovation.” @mitsloan

Name the first state to buy bitcoin. I’ll give you a hint. It starts with T and ends in “exas.” At the end of November, the state purchased $5 million in bitcoin, valued at $87,000 per coin at purchase, through a Blackrock administered exchange. The state has allocated a total of $10 million for its bitcoin reserve.  

Governing | Texas Becomes First State to Buy Bitcoin

Louisiana is home to a Hyperion data center project by Meta. The project is located in a rural portion of the state and since it began “has coincided with” a 600% spike in truck crashes on the two lane rural roads.

A highway safety researcher at LSU sums it up as “I think it’s incumbent of them to be a good steward of the public trust.”

Louisiana Illuminator | Construction on Meta’s largest data center brings 600% crash spike, chaos to rural Louisiana

The country’s first quantum powered telecom system will be in New Mexico. The state is positioning itself to be a leader in quantum technologies. Fast Company says quantum is the key to energy efficient AI. 

NextGov | New Mexico unveils quantum telecom network

Let’s learn a new phrase: task reallocation. Basically, it is when AI is used for its best use and humans are used for their best use.

In @mitsloan words, “ when only a small number of tasks within a role can be reallocated to AI, workers can actually benefit: They gain the capacity to focus on work at which humans excel, such as critical thinking and ideation, and hiring for their role may increase.“

@wired says that the President is considering an executive order to limit state AI laws. Working title: Eliminating State Law Obstruction of National AI Policy.

“A draft of the order viewed by WIRED directs US Attorney General Pam Bondi to create an “AI Litigation Task Force,” whose purpose is to sue states in court for passing AI regulations that allegedly violate federal laws governing things like free speech and interstate commerce”

Ohio Legislature is considering HB469 that “bars AI systems from getting married, but it also prohibits them from holding a decision-making role within a company or owning property.”

How did we get here? A person in Japan allegedly wed an AI spouse. The Ohio author of the bill fears that criminal liability may be passed onto AI.

Industry is opposed. According to TechNet, “Existing product liability law already covers negligent or defective design. And HB 469’s new, AI-specific liability structure would only increase uncertainty and litigation risk.”

Ohio Capital Journal | What’s in Ohio’s proposal banning AI personhood

New Mexico’s Economic Development Department division Director said that data centers have been an economic boon for the state. The economic benefit directly stems from the population growth, increased tax revenue and brought benefits to other businesses near data centers.

Gov Tech | New Mexico Lawmakers Consider Impacts of Data Centers

Everyone in the U.S. will likely see browser settings that will allow users to protect their privacy by opting out of selling their data. Why? Assembly Bill 566 amends the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 by requiring all browsers to allow users to opt out of having their data sold. Common thought is that it will be easier for tech companies to allow for opting out nationwide rather than only in California.

Cal matters | Why a new California law could change the way all Americans browse the internet

Anthropic is proposing a $50 billion plan for building data centers in the U.S. They are partnering with U.K.-based neocloud provider Fluidstack. 

These data centers will come online in Texas and New York in 2026.

Tech Crunch | Anthropic announces $50 billion data center plan

California was the first state to require disclosure of AI use.

Add Utah to this list. Utah is requiring businesses regulated by the state to disclose when we interact with AI.

Did Utah accomplish this with a bill? No. Utah’s Department of Commerce accomplished it by rule.

@official_cybernews

Can a tech company use the same rating system as we see on films? Here’s a hint on how this is going:

“The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has sent Meta a cease-and-desist letter demanding that it stop using the term “PG-13,” as first reported by The Wall Street Journal.”

Tech Crunch | Motion Picture Association hits Meta with cease-and-desist over use of ‘PG-13’ label

You know how last week we talked about a city pulling the plug on surveillance cameras? This week we learned that hackers can access these types of cameras because of a lack of multi factor log-ins by police departments. 

This is sounding a lot like how the Louvre’s security password was allegedly “Louvre.”

Tech Crunch | Lawmakers say stolen police logins are exposing Flock surveillance cameras to hackers

Sun Run Investor Relations found that 80% of consumers fear that AI and data centers will drive up electric costs.

68% are concerned that their utility provider can’t keep up with the growing energy demand in their area.

71% are concerned that their home will experience an outage in the next year due to high electricity demand or extreme weather.

I hear LLM and I think a lawyer earned a post-J.D. in a specialized area of the law. In 2025, LLM means AI that uses large language models. Guess the fun surprise that comes with LLMs? They turn evil and no one knows why. Need a spooky Halloween read? Check out @wired

I can’t believe we need to clarify that a human candidate is running for office, but here we are. In Virginia, the Republican lieutenant governor candidate staged a debate against an AI version of his challenger.

The Virginia State Legislature passed a bill prohibiting certain uses of AI in politics. The measure was vetoed. The veto statement read “However, this legislation imposes an impractical enforcement structure that lacks clear, workable mechanisms and raises significant constitutional and logistical concerns.”

Governing | A Fake Debate in Virginia Raises Real Questions About AI in Politics

We read a half dozen articles this week about how nondisclosure agreements with data center developments are causing waves with local communities It’s going to be an ongoing issue. 

Jane Kirtley, a professor of media law and ethics at the University of Minnesota, said “ In smaller communities where there’s often less oversight, where fewer media are paying attention to it and fewer citizens participating, councils can get away with an awful lot of secrecy for a very long time without anybody complaining about it.”

Minnesota Reformer | Want an AI data center in your city? Sure, but first sign this non-disclosure agreement

New term for AI: artificial adversarial intelligence. This phrase means using AI to model the behavior of expert attackers, including how they learn and adapt in response to a target’s cyber defenses. @MITSloan

A Dutch regulator is warning voters not to ask AI for voting recommendations. Why? Because AI advice is unreliable. How many U.S. voters do you think have asked AI for recommendations since early voting began this fall?

Reuters | Dutch watchdog warns voters against using AI chatbots ahead of election

Coming to a Legislature near you- AI superintelligence guidance. Over 850 people, including tech leaders like Virgin Group founder Richard Branson and Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak, signed a statement published Wednesday calling for a pause in the development of superintelligence. @cnbc

A new poll by Pew found 53% say that AI stifles creativity. 16% say AI improves creative thinking. 50% say AI will harm the ability to have meaningful relationships. All in all more people say AI is a threat and not a benefit.

A bitcoin mine came online in Dafter Township, MI. Locals are displeased.

This is what has locals concerned: (1) Noise that is so loud students don’t go outside, and it is impacting their education. (2) Migratory bird patterns have changed. (3) Energy and water use rates being impacted,  including the increase to local electric rates. (4) Documents filed by the company described the facility as a storage facility, not a bitcoin mining operation. 

Neighboring communities are passing prohibitions to protect them from similar fates.

Michigan Advance | A Bitcoin mine came to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and Dafter Township isn’t happy

Inside Climate News | A Bitcoin Mine Came to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and Dafter Township Isn’t Happy

Florida Governor’s social media posts criticize AI use in insurance. The industry says current law already places restraints on the use of AI by the insurance industry in Florida.

At a recent press conference, he said “It basically means we’re going to be at the beck and call of Silicon Valley tech overlords.”

Florida Phoenix | DeSantis wants AI regulation; insurance lobby says Florida has it under control

In 2025, Texas passed legislation supporting quantum computing. Before that states like Colorado and Illinois invested in quantum computing. Quantum computing is in the news this week for its Nobel prize. It’s the future.

“There is no advanced technology today that does not rely on quantum mechanics,” Olle Eriksson, chairman of the Nobel Committee for Physics

New York Times | Nobel Prize in Physics Is Awarded for Work in Quantum Mechanics

As Americans lose billions to large foreign networks of fraudsters, Congress members are calling for cyber fraud to be declared a national security threat. They’ve created a STOP Scams Caucus with bipartisan participation.

Shreve Passes Historic Anti-Scam Legislation Through Committee

Politico | Weekly Cybersecurity

It is now illegal to replace an actor with AI in California. The prohibition applies to both likenesses and voices. California also increased its investment in film and television tax credits recently.

California Governor | Governor Newsom signs bills to protect digital likeness of performers

An attorney in California relied on AI. It did not go well. The usual mix of 21 fake quotes, fake cases, and no human review. The judge is the first to levy the most costly penalty on the attorney, $10,000. @calmatters

We know that some AI engines make your AI inquiries public. Meta is said to be selling how & why you use AI. Fun times monetizing your user data- to give you ads. Yay! More ads.

TechCrunch | Meta plans to sell targeted ads based on data in your AI chats

St. Louis, Missouri City Council has been considering a local ordinance to pause data center development. Before this could happen, the mayor acted. An executive order has been issued that requires  data center developments to disclose both water and energy use,  job creation numbers, and distance from nearby neighborhoods, and noise pollution.  

Data Center Dynamics | Plans for data center paused in St. Louis amid regulatory changes and local pushback

OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank have announced 5 new AI data center projects this week. This in addition to its flagship site in Abilene, Texas. The new locations include two additional Texas locations: Milam County and locations in Shackelford County, Texas. 

The 3 additional location are Doña Ana County, New Mexico; and a site in the Midwest. These sites are included in the $500 AI investment these partners announced in January. 

Open AI | OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank expand Stargate with five new AI data center sites

Meta has pledged tens of millions to support the company’s efforts in state legislatures.

Bonjour, to the new super PAC— the American Technology Excellence Project. A goal is to champion stateside tech future. NYTimes says Meta is likely to be one the largest spenders in the 2026 midterm elections

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A biweekly update from the US Census Bureau found that of the 1.2 million businesses surveyed,  AI use among large businesses has dropped from 14% to under 12% from June to August. 

Futurism | Data Shows That AI Use Is Now Declining at Large Companies

Fairfax County, Virginia’s support of quantum computing is being called a blue ocean opportunity. Harvard Business Review tells us blue ocean opportunities are defined as “demand is created rather than fought over. There is ample opportunity for growth that is both profitable and rapid.” This means the industries aren’t fully evolved yet. 

Virginia says the only states that are also competing for quantum computing are Illinois and Colorado. You all know this because we started talking about Illinois and Colorado way back in January 2024.

Route Fifty | How quantum became a ‘blue ocean’ opportunity for a Virginia county

Ah…the Information Age, a time when you publicly do not oppose a data privacy bill, but organize the opposition and believe that all this will remain hidden. A tech company organized opposition to AB566 which amends California’s Privacy Act.  All the while publicly in California the company did not publicly oppose the bill. However, behind the scenes, it emailed business owners across the country alleging that the bill will  “hurt your ability to use online ads to reach customers.” The MarkUp

Legislation to curb catastrophic AI harm is moving through NY and CA Legislatures. California’s SB 53 is headed to the Governor’s desk, S6953B. Is awaiting action by New York’s Governor.

The bills seek to “establish rules aiming to prevent the most advanced, large-scale artificial intelligence models — known as frontier AI models — from causing catastrophic harm involving dozens of casualties or billion-dollar damages.”

Arguments calling for a veto include the usual- stifle innovation, patchwork of state laws, liability, and free speech. The NetChoice veto request letter.

California Legislature is close to final enactment of SB 243 that will protect vulnerable users of AI chatbots. California would be the first state to regulate AI chatbots and hold them accountable. We’ve all seen the slew of media on the negative impact of AI chatbots on vulnerable users. This bill would specifically address Ai chatbots engaging in suicidal ideation, self-harm, or sexually explicit content.

TechCrunch | A California bill that would regulate AI companion chatbots is close to becoming law

The American Psychological Association suggests that AI regulations need age controls and chatbot tailoring for children. AI development is moving so fast, and AI is learning largely on adult information which does not align with the developing brains of children.

NextGov | Psychology experts call for AI age controls and chatbot tailoring

In a rural area outside Grandbury, TX residents are petitioning to form the town of Mitchell Bend so as to address what they see as nuisance issues and property value declines related to a bitcoin operation. 

Fast Company

@MITSLOAN  released its 2025 Quantum Index Report. It found that quantum processor performance is improving. We talked recently about Microsoft launching a quantum chip. It is moving fast. The number of quantum patents have increased 5 fold in the last decade. 91% of patents are from research institutions. The U.S. is 2nd to China in the number of patents. Only 1% of VC funding worldwide is for quantum computing. Businesses are talking more and more about quantum publicly and it is snow balling with each quarter.  The demand for a quantum ready workforce has tripled since 2018.

Virginia’s Governor signed an Executive order that will require the state to use agentic AI to streamline regulations. To make this happen, the state has contracted with Vulcan Technologies, which plans to expand into other states. Details about the company which incorporated in April 2025 at the link below.

The project began in July and the Virginia Office of Regulatory management says it has already streamlined by 26.8% regulatory requirements.

Route Fifty | Inside Virginia’s AI-driven streamlining of regulations

We talked about Illinois new law prohibiting AI for mental health. Now we need to add Nevada’s AB 406, Utah’s HB 452, Pennsylvania’s proposed SB 631, New Jersey’s proposed HB 5603, and California’s proposed SB 579.

Association of Health Care Journalists | States crack down on AI for behavioral health care

In 2024, Colorado became the first state to establish a regulatory framework for AI. Now the Colorado Legislature is in a special session to revise its 2024 laws. The competing interests are consumer protections; the cost to public and higher education to implement regulations; and the business community’s concern that regulations will stifle innovation.

CPR | Competing visions of how — and how much — to regulate AI decision-making, as Colorado lawmakers return for their special session

A new report from MIT found that companies are reporting a 95% failure rate with generative AI. In total these companies spent $30 billion on generative AI. The report found that to achieve success, generative AI needs to achieve contextual adaptation and autonomous operation.

The Hill | Companies have invested billions into AI, 95 percent getting zero return

37 Attorneys General sent a letter to Instagram about its early August new location sharing feature. The letter calls on Instagram to revise its feature. They wrote, “Unrestricted location-sharing features pose a particular risk for minors as they can be readily used by sexual predators to identify and geographically target children in the real world. We know that dangerous individuals are already present on Instagram, and we have serious concerns that this feature will increase the likelihood of hands-on abuse and exploitation.”

Source NM | Attorneys general call on Meta to place privacy limits on new Instagram location feature

The Information Technology Industry Council has advice for the new national cyber director: focus on “results-driven action.” Their report lists recommendations that include advance national cyber security priorities (bye,bye state cyber laws); prepare for quantum threats; modernize cryptography; and harden the software supply chain to raise the cost for adversaries.

AI psychosis is explained by @time as “people developing delusions or distorted beliefs that appear to be triggered or reinforced by conversations with AI.” 

Seems like a good time to mention that Illinois became the first state to prohibit AI from offering mental health care or therapy. @morningbrew

According to the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, 40+ states seek to regulate cryptocurrency. The main objectives of state regulation are “identifying and managing risks and nurturing innovative developments.”

Examples include a bill in Illinois to have crypto currencies register with the state’s  Department of Financial and Professional Regulation while exempting technology companies that provide no financial services to customers.

Route Fifty | States have been ‘at the forefront’ of efforts to regulate cryptocurrency, experts say

@mitsmr reminds us that AI can’t read people or a room, which means when your organization utilizes “real human communication” then your organization is ahead of the game.

Meet the new Commission on Cyber Force Generation, which sprouts from the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Cyber Solarium Commission 2.0. Because, you know, efficiency.

Who will be on this new commission? Cyber leaders in the private and public sectors, which will include former officials from U.S. Cyber Command, the NSA and the National Security Council.

What will it do? Report to the Trump administration “on the foundational details of organizing a new military service focused on the U.S.’ security in cyberspace.”

Who has been opposed? the Pentagon, bipartisan lawmakers, and the private sector. No biggie.

Politico | Wo is who at Blackhat

Kansas joins the list of states that are protecting personal data from being disclosed to the federal government. Kansas is refusing to send SNAP personal data to the USDA. Multiple states have sued to protect their residents’ data.  

Kansas Reflector | State officials again refuse to release Kansans’ personal data to USDA

In an interview Sam Altman of ChatGPT explains that the company is required to retain a record of everything you say to ChatGPT. Unsurprisingly, everything you say is not legally protected and thus can be used against you in court. Much like Facebook was a goldmine for lawyers, now it will be ChaGPT. @PCMag

In 2025, laws regulating crypto ATMs passed in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Rhode Island. 65% of fraud at crypto kiosks is perpetrated against people over 60.

Additional crypto kiosk legislation includes Spokane, Wash., which implemented a ban crypto ATMs. Vermont’s 2024 law imposes both new regulations and a one-year moratorium on new crypto ATMs.

Governing | Fearing Scams, States Add Regulations to Crypto ATMs

A federal judge in Alabama removed 3 attorneys from a matter because “a fine would not rectify the egregious misconduct in this case.” The federal judge removed the attorneys from the case and referred the issue to the state bar for reliance on imaginary AI case law.  The weirdest part in here for lawyers will be when the attorney team leader explains that he doesn’t ask his team to verify citations/research.

Alabama Reflector | Federal judge removes attorneys from Alabama DOC lawsuit after AI fabricated citations

A brief from the Open Technology Institute supports the use of zero-knowledge proofs to verify users’ ages. This verification process is said to have better protection for personal privacy. 

How does this work? Remember when liquor stores were given permission to scan your id for age verification but they retain no information? Similar process here in that the “user can prove their information to the verifying party without revealing that information itself, just its validity.”  

Route Fifty | Age verification needs better privacy protections, report says

This is a fun term (hello, sarcasm. Nice to see you today). Intellectual leveling means that technology (Chat bots & AI) can funnel users with similar personalities and chat histories toward similar conclusions, a process that threatens to homogenize human intellect. @nautilusmag

Daron Acemoglu, an @mit Institute professor and Nobel laureate, says AI hype isn’t the same as when the internet was hyped. He’s of the opinion that “hype is an enemy of business success.”

The internet had “clear transformative potential for communication, commerce, and networking.” He adds, “While it works well for repetitive cognitive tasks, it’s unclear how AI will benefit workers in roles as diverse as entertainment, custodial work, and leadership.” @MITSloan

@financialtimes says that “McKinsey has stopped its China business from undertaking consultancy work related to generative artificial intelligence amid geopolitical tensions.⁠”
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@cnbc Tells us that Goldman Sachs and Bank of New York Mellon are offering institutional investors the ability to purchase tokenized money market funds.

A report by the Neurorights Foundation found that 29 of 30 neurotechnology products offer no meaningful protections for your neurological data. States are stepping in to protect neurological data beyond conventional medical settings. These states include Colorado, California, and Montana. KFF Health News

KFF Health News | States Pass Privacy Laws To Protect Brain Data Collected by Devices

In 2024, crypto thefts totaled $1.87 billion. So far in 2025, a total of $2.17 billion of crypto has been stolen, and we’ re barely halfway through the year. Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis estimates that by the end of the year crypto thefts will top $5 billion. @cnbc

Texas, Utah, and Louisiana are the only 3 states that have passed App Store accountability bills. What do these bills do again? They require app stores like Apple’s and Google’s to identify when users are children and obtain parental consent before apps can be downloaded. There’s some lingering constitutional issues- surprise! legislatures passing bills that could be unconstitutional. Color me astonished.

Route Fifty | Louisiana becomes third state to pass app store accountability law

The Government AI Landscape Assessment, developed by the civic tech nonprofit Code for America, measured states’ readiness in adopting AI based on three core areas: Leadership and Governance, AI Capacity Building and Technical Infrastructure & Capabilities. 3 states are ready: PA, NJ & UT. TX is ranked established along with CA and NY.

City & State Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania is a Top 3 state for government AI readiness

Denmark is allowing the Danish to copyright their identity, face, voice, image to protect it from AI use. @culturiety_

We are entering a new phase of AI— AI backlash. Duolingo dropped humans as language teachers, and Duolingo is feeling the Ai backlash. @wired says it’s a growing reaction by Americans that AI replacing humans isn’t acceptable. Compound this with AI errors, public statements of AI antisemitism, environmental impact of AI, and recent studies pointing to the impact of AI on brain functioning by MIT researchers. @time

Conservative challenges to the Universal Service Fund lost 6:3 at the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supremes upheld the USF by finding that lawmakers gave the FCC sufficient flexibility to implement USF and raise the money it feels it needs through USAC, and the FCC has retained its decision-making authority by only taking nonbinding advice from the nonprofit.

The USF provides funds for broadband access.

Route Fifty | Major broadband subsidy survives Supreme Court challenge

Virginia does not have statewide data center regulations, so local governments are stepping in to regulate. It’s weird, right? Virginia has 1/3 of the world’s data centers and its’s a free for all. Virginia Legislature passed HB 1601 (2025 | VA) to regulate dalta centers and the bill was vetoed by the Governor. The veto message said local governments are best suited to determine data center regulations. So local governments are stepping in to create data center solutions that meet local needs.

R Street Institute is warning of the cyber risk from agentic AI. This is the AI agent who helps you navigate a government service, a company, etc… layers of agentic service are vulnerable to cyber attack including the agent’s perception layer, data poisoning, the AI agent’s reasoning module, its action module, & memory module.

Route Fifty | Report warns of agentic AI cyber risks

Bonjour to American Innovators Network the new kid on the block lobbying on state AI regulations. The American Innovators Network is a coalition of early-stage artificial intelligence startups and venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz.  

City & State NY | ‘Little tech’ lobby starts campaign against AI regulation bills

On June 6th, a new Executive Order rolled back executive orders from Presidents Obama and Biden which strengthened digital identities.

Experts warn that this new order opens the door for more digital identity theft. It also offers no replacements. Politico Weekly Cybersecurity.

 260 state legislators from all 50 states have signed a letter opposing a provision in the federal budget reconciliation bill that would limit state power in regulating AI. Texans signing this letter include:

Representative Angie Chen Button, Texas House of Representatives

Representative Josey Garcia, Texas House of Representatives

Representative Donna Howard, Texas House of Representatives

Representative John Lujan, Texas House of Representatives

Representative Candy Noble, Texas House of Representatives

Representative Claudia Ordaz, Texas House of Representatives

Representative Jared Patterson, Texas House of Representatives

5 competitively bid, congressionally authorized semiconductor manufacturing projects have been cancelled. These include already announced projects such as n aerospace HUB in WA & ID and a biotechnology center in AL. Some say these issue is that these projects included collaborations between health science centers and historically Black colleges and universities and had inclusion and diversity provisions. Has no one read any of the bajillion studies on the economic and community benefits of diversity and inclusion. You know, analytical data….

Geekwire | Spokane’s aerospace Tech Hub loses $48M federal grant, sparking regional outcry

A datacenter project in Kansas City received planning commission approval for the 550-acre business park for construction of a $12.6 billion data center. The project is sensitive to nearby landowners and seeks to provide a great of a buffer as possible such as  eight-foot earth berms, 3,000 trees and other landscaping to obstruct the view of people living nearby. The project is expected to become the county’s largest property tax payer at an estimated $12.9 million annually.

Route Fifty | Kansas City, Kansas, planning commission advances proposed $12.6B data center

This month, Oregon became the 2nd state to ban the sale of precise geolocation data. Maryland passed a similar bill in 2024, which will be effective this fall.

Other states such as Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont are considering similar legislation. Similar legislation failed to pass this spring in California.

The Record | Oregon becomes second state to ban sale of precise geolocation data

Montana amended its genetic privacy law this May. SB 163 added protections for neural data.

Arizona’s Supreme Court is utilizing AI reporters to deliver its opinions. The public information officer insists that the human touch is required to confirm the information and push the information to news outlets.

NBC | Arizona Supreme Court turns to AI-generated ‘reporters’ to deliver news

The Chicago Times publishes a Summer Reading list of 15 books. 5 of which were actual books. The other 10 books were complete fabrications from AI.

I’d say the 10 books are fiction, but that just gets punny and confusing. The content was created with generative AI and AI said- “I got you,” and chose to hallucinate up a bunch of nonexistent books. 

I think we got here because people aren’t reading enough books. 

NPR | How an AI-generated summer reading list got published in major newspapers

The Government Accountability Office released a report this week that raises concerns about AI use in financial services. The concerns include potentially biased lending decisions, data quality issues, privacy concerns, and new cybersecurity threats. The report also highlights that federal regulatory agencies don’t have the tools to oversee AI use. 

Texas is the 3rd state to create a bitcoin reserve. Arizona and New Hampshire beat Texas to the 1st spot. Texas’ SB21 opens the Bitcoin Reserve only to cryptocurrencies with a 12-month average market cap of at least $500 billion can be purchase.

Bitcoin magazine | Texas Legislature Passes Bitcoin Reserve Bill

So, how is NYC going to become the crypto capital? Creating a digital asset for city services and taxes; creating a new “digital asset advisory council” to advise on workforce issues; and adopting a digital coin.

Government Technology | NYC Mayor Spells Out Big Plans for Crypto and Blockchain

@harvard_business_review tells us that the top uses of GenAI are therapy/companionship; organizing “my life;” “finding my purpose;” enhanced learning; generating ideas; fun and nonsense; creativity; and healthier living.”

The Digital Equity Act is a federal act that seeks to expand access to broadband. President Trump says it is “racist and illegal $2.5 billion giveaway.” In response, Alisa Valentin, broadband policy director at open internet advocacy group Public Knowledge, said in a statement, “The irony is that the weaponization of the word ‘equity’ will halt progress in closing the digital divide and will also severely impact his voter base of white Americans who live in rural areas in red states, including veterans and the elderly.” 

Route Fifty | BEAD uncertainty swirls, joined by Trump’s threats to the Digital Equity Act

California Privacy Protection Agency is the first  of its kind in the nation. It was approved by voters in 2020. It proposed some rules about AI that  the Governor and businesses said would be too costly. This week the agency revised its proposed rules, which they say won’t apply to 90% of businesses and reduces the cost to businesses from $843 million to $143 million. 

Governing | California’s Privacy Agency Backs Off AI Regulations

Yale’s Digital Ethics Center helps states navigate the balance of regulation and innovation in state AI legislation.

Yale News | Yale’s Digital Ethics Center helps U.S. states navigate the promise and perils of AI

Colorado Legislature attempted to reach an agreement to resolve concerns over their 1st in the nation AI bill. Those negotiations met legislative deadlines and the previously passed AI legislation will be implemented.

GovTech | Colorado House Fails in Late-Night Move to Slow AI Rules

What are data centers saying in the midst of discussions of AI and energy use? Data centers create jobs, are economic engines, are key to the future of the economy, that have contributed $3.46 trillion to U.S. gross domestic product and created more than 600,000 direct jobs according to the industry.

Route Fifty | Data centers defend environmental record amid AI push

North Carolina’s House Bill 462 would allow consumers to limit online shadowing (you know. the algorithms) and prevent their personal information from being sold for targeted ads or data mining. 

Route Fifty | North Carolina lawmakers consider bill to let consumers opt out of targeted online ads

Colorado’s Senate Bill 25-86 “would regulate social media companies by requiring they remove people from the platform who violate the terms of service by exploiting young people for sexual content or sell drugs or firearms.” The Senate voted to override the veto, the House did not.

Colorado’s Governor vetoed the measure stating “This law imposes sweeping requirements that social media platforms, rather than law enforcement, enforce state law. It mandates a private company to investigate and impose the government’s chosen penalty of permanently deplatforming a user even if the underlying complaint is malicious and unwarranted. In our judicial proceedings, people receive due process when they are suspected of breaking the law.“

Route Fifty | Colorado Senate votes to override Polis veto of social media regulation bill

The Executive Order is a call ““To ensure the United States remains a global leader in this technological revolution, we must provide our Nation’s youth with opportunities to cultivate the skills and understanding necessary to use and create the next generation of AI technology,”

Add Arizona to the growing list of state legislatures that are creating state bitcoin reserves. SB 1025 strengthens state recognition of crypto currencies & SB 1373 creates the reserve. The bills are on the Governor’s desk. If signed it would be the first state bitcoin reserve.

NBC News | Arizona Legislature pushes for a state bitcoin reserve

@MIT Sloan introduces us to the new term of art, “intelligent choice architectures.” Intelligent choice architectures are “AI systems that proactively participate in structuring and shaping strategic decisions.”

What makes this so powerful? “their ability to actively learn from outcomes, seek information, and alter the options available to decision makers.”

Guess which country leads in innovation? If you guessed Switzerland, you are correct. Sweden is 2nd. The U.S. is third. WIPO’s GII 2024 results

@techcrunch reports that OpenAI is complaining that saying please and thank you to their AI costs them millions. These are smart people, right? So why not program the AI to ignore please and thank you? What kind of a society are we if there is no please and thank you- that’s like the barest of minimums.

A new report from Semperis, an identity security and cyber resilience company, found that 62% of water and power operators in the United States and the United Kingdom have been targeted by cyberattacks in the past year, 80% of which have been targeted multiple times. 59% of those surveyed confirmed that cyber criminals sponsored by nation-states were behind the attacks, which experts say could be higher.

More than half — 57% — said the attacks disrupted their normal operations, while 54% suffered permanent corruption or destruction of their data or systems. 

Route Fifty | ‘Living off the land’ a major cyber threat to critical infrastructure, report finds

Pennsylvania Legislature is considering making it a criminal offense to use a tracking device to track someone. HB 407 (2025 | PA) Similar laws have been enacted in Ohio; Florida; and according to NCSL 11 states have created criminal offense for tracking devises.

Route Fifty } PA House passes bill creating criminal offense for tracking device-based stalking