In the News
A Senate bill that would task the National Science Foundation with overseeing a multimillion-dollar competition on artificial intelligence innovations now has a House companion from the leaders of the chamber’s AI task force.
It's been four years since scientists rediscovered hundreds of tons of DDT—a pesticide banned for its toxicity and risk to humans—dumped into the ocean just off the coast of Los Angeles. For at least 15 years, Montrose Chemical Corporation improperly disposed of DDT into the ocean. After multiple lawsuits, the company and other responsible parties settled for $140 million—a drop in the bucket compared to the destruction it caused.
A proposal to expand the Los Angeles County's Board of Supervisors from five to nine received support from two Congressional representatives on Thursday, July 18.
Rep. Judy Chu, who represents the 28th Congressional District, and Rep. Ted Lieu, representing the 36th Congressional District, believe adding members could lead to a special district for the Asian American Pacific Islander community.
Amid continued criticism over – and legal challenges against – Spotify’s aggressive embrace of bundling, federal lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have reached out to the Copyright Office with “serious questions” over the change.
Scarlett Johansson called out OpenAI this week for mimicking her voice for a new chatbot, underscoring the urgency that many artists feel about regulating artificial intelligence.
But in Congress, taking on AI is starting to resemble wrestling an octopus. It’s so sprawling, it’s hard to know how to begin.
Rep. Ted Lieu announced the allocation of nearly $1 million to create a Quantum Information Science Hub at UCLA after President Joe Biden signed the funding into law in March.
This grant will fund the purchase of a laser used to refine and develop qubits – bits made of subatomic particles that power quantum computers – with the ultimate goal of creating such a computer, according to a press release from Lieu’s office.
Nearly $2 million will go toward additional safety features in neighborhoods along Lincoln Blvd. and enhancing two Santa Monica affordable housing programs after Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA 36th District) secured the federal funds, the congressman announced.
“Safety and housing are two key issues that are top of mind for so many of my constituents. I am pleased to have fought for funding for projects that work to address those concerns.” said Rep. Lieu in a statement. “It is an honor to represent Santa Monica in Congress and to bring back funding for each of these projects,”
Hermosa Beach Police Department will receive $963,000 in federal funds for what Police Chief Paul LeBaron describes as a Real Time Crime Center.
“I have had people actually ask me, ‘Where is it going to be?'” LeBaron said in an interview on Tuesday.
The Real Time Crime Center will not be a physical building, but rather a technology platform that LeBaron believes will help police identify suspects quicker, keep officers safer, and help them catch suspects who otherwise may not have been caught.
South Bay cities and nonprofits will benefit from $11 million in federal funds secured by Rep. Ted Lieu’s office, according to a recent announcement.
The money comes from an appropriations bill President Joe Biden signed into law on March 9, with more than a dozen projects in Lieu’s 36th Congressional District benefiting, according to a press release from the representative’s office.
WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives said Tuesday they are forming a bipartisan task force to explore potential legislation to address concerns around artificial intelligence.