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Debate over future of US AI regulation hinges on broadband fundingwww.reuters.com/legal/government/teamsters-president-urges-congress-scrap-ai-state-law-ban-2025-06-25/
140 sats \ 3 comments \ @Coinsreporter 25 Jun AI
The fight over a proposed 10-year federal moratorium on state regulation of artificial intelligence heated up on Wednesday, with Republican and Democratic Senate leaders differing on whether such a measure would be tied to billions of dollars in funding to help states improve broadband infrastructure.
Major AI companies including Alphabet's Google opens new tab and OpenAI have expressed support for Congress taking AI regulation out of the hands of states, to free innovation from a panoply of differing requirements. But opponents of the measure, including the Teamsters union -- which raised concerns on Wednesday about worker surveillance and self-driving vehicles -- say states should be able to protect their residents.
Looks like another giveaway to big tech tycoons!
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130 sats \ 0 replies \ @optimism 25 Jun
So I was just thinking "broadband infra AGAIN?"
In November 2023 I received a cold email from a friend-of-a-friend that asked me if I could please help them to formulate better targeted applications for BEAD moneys because it was not being spent. I told them to just call Comcast and get a csv if they want to know where to put cables in the ground. It was not a pleasant email exchange lol.
However, there was a June 6th Restructuring Notice where this is now "addressed", but of course nothing is rescinded, instead parts are being re-appropriated to Sam (also see #1015580: it's kind of being proven that giving money to OpenAI won't make that wet dream AGI happen.) 390,000 BTC worth of budget... and it is all squandered on cronyist bullcrap.
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100 sats \ 1 reply \ @SimpleStacker 26 Jun
This "billions to improve broadband infrastructure" sounds like a slush fund for connected players. Broadband should be good enough for the vast majority of Americans, and for the few rural areas where it isn't good enough, I don't see how connecting them makes any difference for AI development.
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30 sats \ 0 replies \ @optimism 26 Jun
It doesn't make any difference. And the money in there doesn't cover real data centers at the scale US AI companies say they need handouts for anyway. Coals to Newcastle.
Remember also that Starlink was explicitly excluded from the pot of money until recently which happened right at the twitter takeover and the Elmo cancel club heights, even though that may offer a cheaper solution for extremely remote areas... Just like if you wanna go into the Amazon or Sahara you may want to have a sat phone.
This just feels like its re-cronyfication of the same money but this time implicitly earmarking it for the other team's buddies.
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