Technology
As ‘smart cities’ tools grow nationwide, so do privacy and ethical concerns
After nearly a week of searching for a suspect in the hit-and-run death of an 81-year-old St. Helena, California woman this summer, police found and arrested a man with the help of license plate reading cameras that registered him near the scene. The police department used information from FLOCK’s automatic license plate reading camera system, which monitors […]
Virginia Attorney General Miyares asks SCOTUS to uphold ‘divest or ban’ law against TikTok
Following the passage of a federal law earlier this year that calls for the owners of social media app TikTok to either sell it or be subject to a ban on the app in the U.S., Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares filed an amicus brief Friday urging the Supreme Court to uphold the law. TikTok […]
Biden administration leaves ‘foundational’ tech legacy, technologists say
As he’s poised to leave office next month, President Joe Biden will leave a legacy of “proactive,” “nuanced” and “effective” tech policy strategy behind him, technologists across different sectors told States Newsroom. Biden’s term was bookended by major issues in the tech world. When he took office in early 2021, he was faced with an […]
Virginia joins push to break Google’s search monopoly
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares has joined the U.S. Department of Justice and a coalition of 38 state attorneys general in proposing sweeping remedies to dismantle Google’s unlawful monopoly over internet search engines and restore competition in the digital marketplace. The push follows a landmark ruling in August 2024 by a federal district court in […]
Youngkin establishes task force to combat negative effects of social media on youth mental health
Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Executive Order 43 on Thursday, which enacted a multi-pronged effort to address the impact of social media use on children’s mental health. The order established the Reclaiming Childhood Task Force to counter “addictive” social media use in youth and “create opportunities for cultural change.” The directive came months after the governor […]
How tech affected “the information environment” of the 2024 election
Advancements in AI technology, and the changing “information environment” undoubtedly influenced how campaigns operated and voters made decisions in the 2024 election, an elections and democracy expert said. Technologists and election academics warned a few months ago that mis- and disinformation would play an even larger role in 2024 than it did in 2020 and 2016. What […]
Department of Labor releases AI best practices for employers
The U.S. Department of Labor released a list of artificial intelligence best practices for developers and employers this week, aiming to help employers benefit from potential time and cost savings of AI, while protecting workers from discrimination and job displacement. The voluntary guidelines come about a year after President Joe Biden signed an executive order to assess […]
Executive director named for Virginia Commission on Technology and Science, a first
With the increased public interest in emerging technologies, Virginia lawmakers hope hiring a full-time director and policy analyst will help advance the commonwealth’s knowledge and focus on innovation. Last month, Jodi Kuhn, an expert in data analytics and ethics from Richmond, was selected as the Joint Commission on Technology and Science’s executive director, the first […]
As AI takes the helm of decision making, signs of perpetuating historic biases emerge
In a recent study evaluating how chatbots make loan suggestions for mortgage applications, researchers at Pennsylvania’s Lehigh University found something stark: there was clear racial bias at play. With 6,000 sample loan applications based on data from the 2022 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the chatbots recommended denials for more Black applicants than identical white counterparts. They also […]
No, FEMA Helene funds aren’t going to undocumented immigrants, despite Youngkin appointee’s tweet
We’re four weeks away from electing the country’s next commander-in-chief and Virginia’s representatives in the U.S. Senate and Congress, and in the wake of one of the most devastating hurricanes the Southeast has seen in years. It’s an especially bad moment to be spreading misinformation online. It seems Rooz Dadabhoy has a poor sense of […]
Virginia develops workforce as demand for electrification grows
This is the final story of a five-part series about Virginia’s transition to electric vehicles that examines the government’s role in the process, the private industry’s status, the development of charging infrastructure in the state, EVs’ impact on the electric grid, and how the commonwealth’s workforce may be influenced by the growing industry. As the […]
Virginia adopted standards for electronic credentials years ago. What happened?
In some states, smartphones can do more than help you pay for services, capture memorable moments, or instantly access your choice of media. In approximately half of the country, people can also store and share personal credentials on their devices, including state identification cards or driver’s licenses. Virginia has been working with experts to develop […]