Alaska uses cloud, AI to modernize dividend payouts
The state will streamline its Permanent Fund Dividend, a program that pays eligible residents a portion of oil and mining revenue but has been beset by aged technology and processes.
Parents think schools’ cybersecurity is stronger than reality, report says
Recent research from Keeper Security found a “widening gap” between the perception of districts’ cyber readiness. Better training and information sharing can help improve the outlook.
After AI’s busy 2024, expect more of the same next year
States are likely to further attempt to regulate the technology and understand how it can benefit their governments and residents. But there are warning signs that rules deemed heavy-handed will remain unpopular.
Major broadband subsidy faces uncertain 2025
The Supreme Court will debate how the Universal Service Fund is financed amid questions over its constitutionality. Without it, states would lose a major resource in reducing the digital divide.
Governments lag other sectors in adopting AI in contact centers, report says
The public sector is far behind the healthcare and retail sectors in using the technology to answer questions and provide users with next steps. But it can gain on its private peers.
Feds push out dollars for states’ digital equity efforts
With just weeks left until President-elect Donald Trump takes office, the NTIA is sending millions of dollars out the door. But not everyone agrees it’s a good idea.
California bill would add warning labels to social media platforms
The proposal would warn users of the potential mental health impacts, but opponents say the plan will once again fall foul of the First Amendment’s free speech protections.
Cross-state partnership looks to boost drone use and research
The Tennessee Department of Transportation announced this week it would partner with North Dakota to build its own testing site and figure out potential uses for the technology.
States are using tech to wipe criminal records clean automatically
Twelve states now have fully automatic criminal records clearance policies, with more set to follow. Artificial intelligence and other tech can help speed up what has previously been an onerous and expensive process.
‘Individualized’ government tech could improve customer experience, Florida official says
Rich Evans, CIO of Florida’s Department of Management Services, said during a recent workshop the public sector should embrace emerging technologies as a way of better serving constituents.
States were not prepared to face COVID-era UI fraud, congressional report says
The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic said states paid out more than $191 billion in fraudulent payments. Data-driven oversight could have mitigated some of those losses, the report said.
A change at Route Fifty
We are shifting our focus to report on how state and local governments are using technology, and will keep following innovative solutions to pressing challenges.
Public health tech must be agile in post-COVID world, Virginia official says
Agencies had to quickly stand up new systems to track cases and vaccines, among other things. With federal help reduced, they need to be sustainable with their tech investments.
States’ privacy is a ‘continual conversation’ amid AI growth, officials say
More governments are embracing some form of privacy protection. It could be hard for those laws to keep up with emerging tech, but officials said that presents an opportunity to be forward-thinking.
Less than half of local IT leaders not ready for AI, survey says
A recent survey of state and local executives found that 38% feel their agencies are not ready to use AI, although more than half are developing policies to govern its use.
Could states’ cyber get trickier under a Trump admin?
Some Republicans have proposed eliminating CISA altogether, which could complicate information sharing efforts. More pressing, though, is the ending of federal cyber grants.
‘The $42B question’: What’s next for federal broadband funding?
The Trump administration could fiddle with the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program or even claw back funds. But the ball will be in states’ courts given how quickly they have moved, and the momentum behind getting people connected.
Cyber training is key to help underserved communities, report finds
States must work to develop cybersecurity professionals in areas that have been left behind, and can use relationships with schools and nonprofits to do so, according to a new NASCIO report.
Elections offices slowly turn to .gov domain in the fight against misinformation
Uptake has been slow, even as the federal government has made it free. Experts said it could help election officials stand apart as purveyors of truthful information.
States reject changes to how elections are administered
Advocates had hoped ranked choice voting would be instituted in more states but were left disappointed last night. Only Washington, D.C. and some small municipalities approved its use.
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