Artificial Intelligence
Medicare’s AI-assisted coverage review pilot hit early snags, documents show
A top Trump administration official recently acknowledged issues with the program, but the administration has shown no signs of nixing it.
Democrats press OpenAI over safety researcher firings, security incidents
The lawmakers are questioning OpenAI’s safety practices following the dismissal of three researchers.
House Democrats call on Trump to preserve AI chatbot records
The request to preserve AI conversations could signal what's to come if Democrats flip the House in next week’s election.
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Policy proposal would require firms to disclose how they use AI to develop new models
The framework from Americans for Responsible Innovation would give Washington a closer look at AI’s role in developing new models as Jay Clayton’s task force shapes the government’s relationship with developers.
‘No question’ data centers will be considered critical infrastructure, top House intel Dem says
Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., said the AI-focused facilities are going to be even more critical than their traditional data center counterparts because “so much more functionality is going to rely on their health and existence.”
USPTO looks to AI agents to ease examiner workloads
The office’s Acting Commissioner for Patents Barry Schindler said putting agents in the hands of its examiners “can shorten that [review process] to one year, because you can pick up the phone and have conversations.”
State Department orders ‘super intelligence’ wording across all official communications
An internal cable from the agency extends Trump’s terminology change to emails, speeches, websites and official titles, while preserving legal language and historical records.
Google Public Sector unveils Gemini for government services
Agencies already have discounted access to Gemini through Nov. 15 under a OneGov deal.
Utah AI sandbox launches new health care pilots — with question marks
The state is mulling how the high-profile AI initiative will tackle medical liability concerns, independent third-party analysis and other questions.
CMS hopes to quadruple provider suspensions over next six months, official says
A new exclusion authority is the Trump administration’s latest step in a technology-enabled drive to restrict fraud, waste and abuse.
Everybody hated Socrates
A neuroscientist built a model that scores zero on every benchmark. It made more of its users smarter than anything else she tested.
AI offers Secret Service unique mission enhancements, official says
Threats against the Secret Service’s full-time protectees are up over 40% since last year. The service’s CIO and CAIO Chris Kraft said AI “can help us as we investigate those threats, monitor those threats [and] bring together correlations between seemingly disparate information.”
Transportation turns to AI to trace research grant recipients’ links to foreign adversaries
Neil Chaudhry, senior advisor for AI at Transportation, says the agency has worked with its partners to create “some really robust AI tools” to analyze the recipients of its research grants.
OPM revamps online pay tables, spearheads AI adoption across federal workforce
The agency's CIO Adam Starr described the pay table refresh as part of a broader plan to “make every part of the federal experience tech-first."
OpenAI bugging case highlights AI’s insider threat problem
Researchers say the alleged recording attempt shows why AI companies need tighter controls on employee access to sensitive information.
House Democrats seek watchdog review of AI-powered air traffic control systems
The inclusion of AI capabilities has “rightfully raised serious questions about its reliability and safety benefits,” House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Democrats wrote in a letter to GAO.
White House unveils billions in investments for Genesis Mission
Eleven leading tech firms pledged to provide $2.4 billion in compute credits to help drive scientific research and technological innovation through the use of artificial intelligence and other emerging capabilities.
Experts hope new AI czar’s leadership can move the needle on regulation
“Maybe [the AI czar] can work with Congress to help come up with some governance, some laws” covering AI, one former Trump official told Nextgov/FCW.
HHS unveils efforts to speed up clinical trials with AI
The department announced a broader multi-agency effort to support U.S. clinical trial infrastructure this past summer.
Tech bills of the week: AI research competitions; Prohibiting federal use of biometric tech; and more
Lawmakers introduced a slew of measures this week that looked to rein in AI risks and provide new oversight and guardrails around the construction of new data centers.
