Given recent AI hacking incidents, CommonWealth Beacon checked back in with state officials to see how they’re protecting resident data flowing through an AI assistant. Here’s what you need to know.
Artificial intelligence
Posted inThe Codcast
Artificial intelligence enthusiasm and energy needs clash on Healey’s docket
Gov. Maura Healey is all-in on artificial intelligence, but she’s also trying to get a handle on soaring energy costs and a growing backlash to the very structures supporting the AI boom — data centers. This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporters Jennifer Smith and Jordan Wolman discuss the governor’s new executive order trying to make data centers greener and more responsive to community feedback, and the paradox of pushing for expanded AI usage as communities revolt against its infrastructure.
Posted inOpinion
AI data centers are coming for Massachusetts. Gov. Healey’s new guardrails aren’t enough.
GOV. HEALEY took an important step last week to protect Massachusetts communities from the unchecked growth of data centers. Her new executive order will require large data centers to meet […]
Posted inState Government
Healey slams brakes on data center tax incentives
Healey said the hold on applications for the 20-year sales and use tax exemption for qualified data centers will remain in effect “until we have strong protections in place for our residents and communities against higher gas and electric bills.”
Posted inOpinion
Why generic AI policies won’t protect students from AI sexual exploitation
When technology is used to fabricate sexual images of children, the response cannot be a vague AI policy, a delayed committee review, or a scramble after the images have already spread. It has to be immediate, concrete, and centered on protection: preserve the evidence, support the targeted student, notify families, stop the circulation, and hold those responsible to account.
Posted inTechnology
Congress shouldn’t block Massachusetts from protecting workers from AI
AS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE races forward with lightning speed, Congress is scrambling to catch up. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have proposed various bills to address the […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t ban data centers. Build better rules.
Through policies rooted in transparency, stewardship, and innovation, Massachusetts can open the door to right-sized, smartly sited data centers.
Posted inOpinion
Congress must act now on AI
No federal agency has clear authority to step in when something goes wrong. While some have argued there is still plenty of time for Congress to act, I would say, look around.
Posted inOpinion
AI is coming to schools. Teachers need time to debate its use, experiment, and figure out how it fits in
THERE’S A CERTAIN feeling right before summer camp ends. It’s the feeling that through the new friendships, conversations, and activities, you’ve met a revised and better version of yourself. You’re […]
Posted inThe Codcast
What it means that a state ‘AI assistant’ will handle your data
This week on The Codcast, we dig into the new partnership between Massachusetts and OpenAI to roll out an AI assistant to help with daily governmental tasks. CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith is joined by Technology Secretary Jason Snyder, who says his goals include “democratizing innovation” and helping streamline bureaucratic systems like the DMV. Snyder discusses the contract with OpenAI, concerns around data privacy and bias in AI systems, and explains why the state is leaning so hard into AI adoption.
Posted inOpinion
As AI transforms the economy, Massachusetts needs a plan for its workforce
Technology has always changed work. What makes this moment different is the speed, scale, and breadth of change, and the absence of a coordinated response. If we fail to act, we are not witnessing inevitable progress; we are permitting displacement by design.
Posted inOpinion
What if AI tells us how to vote?
With a little coaxing, ChatGPT chose my candidates. This feels like the next disinformation front in politics.
Posted inThe Codcast
Massachusetts leans into artificial intelligence
This week on The Codcast, it’s the state angle on artificial intelligence. CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Sabrina Mansur, director of the Massachusetts Artificial Intelligence (AI) Hub. Mansur explains how she uses AI in her daily life and why keeping Massachusetts competitive means a $100 million taxpayer-funded effort to get into the AI race.
Posted inOpinion
Mass. must resist Congress’s proposed moratorium on state AI regulation
The vast majority of Americans are skeptical of AI and want it slowed down. This is the moment for Massachusetts to show its leadership.
Posted inOpinion
The dark side of AI: Climate chaos, pollution, and injustice
Unless we have a seat at the table to set regulations, the AI data center boom will hurt Black and brown frontline communities like mine in Roxbury first and worst.
Posted inGovernment
Researchers find some worry, some hope for AI in democracy
The risks are serious, but focusing only on artificial intelligence misinformation threatens to overtake conversations about where AI has been most impactful as a mass communication tool.
Posted inOpinion
AI was everywhere in 2024 elections — but the sky didn’t fall
These are also the first AI elections, where many feared that deepfakes and artificial intelligence-generated misinformation would overwhelm the democratic processes. The dreaded “death of truth” has not materialized – at least, not due to AI.
Posted inMedia
In Melrose, an experiment in hyper-local AI podcasting
Catalini sighs describing the Melrose news options over the 25 years since he moved with his wife to the city, which felt “robust” at the time. Now, almost nobody is covering hyper-local news like override votes or digging into the overwhelming documentation around proposed zoning policy, he said.
Posted inHealth Care
The artificial intelligence frontier hits health care
A panel moderated by Rahsaan Hall, president and CEO of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, considered the practical applications and equity red flags of incorporating artificial intelligence into regular practice.
Posted inState Government
Lawmakers hear testimony on bill banning political deepfakes
Finegold’s bill would also allow candidates targeted by a deceptive or fraudulent deepfake to seek civil legal action against people who create or post it, with damages of up to $10,000 per incident.
Posted inPolitics
New Hampshire robocalls stir up new firestorm over artificial intelligence
New Hampshire Democrats received calls before their January primary asking them not to vote until the November general election – the caller purportedly President Joe Biden himself. It wasn’t a human impersonator on the other line, but an AI-generated voice that sounded like the president.
Posted inState Government
As state leans in on artificial intelligence, AG Campbell waves a yellow flag
Attorney General Andrea Campbell says AI has tremendous potential, but warns it has “shown to pose serious risks to consumers, including bias, lack of transparency or explainability, implications for data privacy, and more.”
