Driving the Day

Today is January 10, 2024, and here are the key policymaker and stakeholder actions on AI you need to know: Tech news publication Gizmodo suggested federal agencies using AI “for tasks that can affect people’s physical safety and civil rights” lack key details about how those tools work and how they were trained. In California, state lawmakers proposed bills to decrease AI data centers’ energy and water consumption. Meanwhile, authors who are suing Meta for using their copyrighted books to train the company’s AI model alleged the company knowingly used pirated materials in their dataset and had the approval of CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Lastly, Taiwan’s Economy Minister, Kuo Jyh-huei, expects only a small impact on semiconductor exports from potential Trump Administration tariffs.

In this issue:

• Washington in Focus: Nvidia urged President Biden to avoid last-minute AI chip export curbs, arguing they could harm the U.S. economy and benefit rivals.

• Around the Nation: An IBM official discussed what State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione’s (R) AI Governance Act would mean for Texas.

• Across the Pond: The U.K. Parliament’s Defence Committee urged the country’s Ministry of Defence to better utilize AI in its operations.

• Global Highlights: The president of a tech-focused think tank argued the U.S. is in an “industrial war” with China that requires “closer collaboration among allied nations” to win.   

• Outside Views:  A director from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation discussed how empowering smallholder farmers with AI tools can bolster global food security.

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