The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence scheduled its first public meeting July 20. The meeting will be via webcast, the commission said. It’s anticipated to begin at 1:30 p.m. EDT. Further details are expected Wednesday. The group sought comment in late May on its final report on ensuring U.S. competitiveness in AI, machine learning and other emerging technologies (see 2005280054).
Democrats should have included a “much-needed federal framework” for autonomous vehicle deployment in the latest highway policy bill, House Commerce Committee Republicans said Tuesday. The office for ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., described HR-2 as a “partisan messaging exercise that has no chance of becoming law.” An AV framework would “boost auto safety for American consumers and allow our nation to lead in this emerging technology that has proven itself beneficial yet again during COVID-19,” Republicans said. The office for Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., didn’t comment.
The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence scheduled its first public meeting July 20. The meeting will be via webcast, the commission said. It’s anticipated to begin at 1:30 p.m. EDT. Further details are expected Wednesday. The group sought comment in late May on its final report on ensuring U.S. competitiveness in AI, machine learning and other emerging technologies (see 2005280054).
New York's Emergency Management Department activated the wireless emergency alert system several times to inform the public of mandatory curfews imposed in response to recent widespread protests, the city told the FCC. Later surveys found problems, the city said Monday in docket 15-91: “The majority of respondents received the messages successfully and within minutes of message issuance. However, consistent with prior surveys, a subset of respondents reported not receiving the message at all and/or receiving it significantly delayed without an identifiable cause.” The city said the pandemic, protests and the “evolving threat environment continue to underscore the need for our nation’s public alerting systems to be improved.”
Democrats should have included a “much-needed federal framework” for autonomous vehicle deployment in the latest highway policy bill, House Commerce Committee Republicans said Tuesday. The office for ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., described HR-2 as a “partisan messaging exercise that has no chance of becoming law.” An AV framework would “boost auto safety for American consumers and allow our nation to lead in this emerging technology that has proven itself beneficial yet again during COVID-19,” Republicans said. The office for Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., didn’t comment.
Rich Ashooh, the Commerce Department’s assistant secretary for export administration, submitted his resignation and will officially leave the agency July 16, a Commerce spokesperson said. The spokesperson declined to comment on the reasons for Ashooh’s departure. Ashooh’s resignation was first reported by Reuters.
The House Armed Services Committee voted Wednesday to include in its FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-6395) two amendments aimed at hindering the FCC’s approval of Ligado’s L-band plan, as expected (see 2006260051). The Senate continued to consider its Armed Services Committee-cleared NDAA version (S-4049) with anti-Ligado language intact (see 2006110026). Senate Armed Services Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., attempted but failed to advance by unanimous consent a manager’s amendment to S-4049 containing additional telecom and tech language.
The House began considering amendments to the Democrats’ Moving Forward Act infrastructure legislative package (HR-2) Tuesday, including 10 on broadband. The underlying measure contains $100 billion in broadband funding, with $9 billion for a Broadband Connectivity Fund to give eligible households an “additional broadband benefit” and $5 billion for E-rate. It also includes $12 billion for next-generation 911 (see 2006180062). House Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina and other Democrats pushed for the measure's adoption. Republicans argued it's a purely partisan measure that has no chance of making it through the Senate or getting support from President Donald Trump.
The end of the FCC's Keep Americans Connected (KAC) pledge -- which was to have expired Tuesday -- won't necessarily mean a universal end of ISPs offering a safety net of modified broadband subscriber terms during the pandemic, companies and consumer advocates told us. They expect a patchwork response of a rollback of some terms and more emphasis on setting up payment plans. Resumption of data caps is expected, as reported in a previous installment in this series of stories about the novel coronavirus (see 2006180002).
The amplified national conversation about racism after recent police-involved deaths of Black people is providing an opening to grow momentum on Capitol Hill for legislation to place new limits on prison phone charges and increase media ownership diversity, lawmakers and lobbyists said in interviews. Lawmakers sponsoring some of the bills told us they are pushing to ensure such language is included in the next COVID-19 aid measure and other vehicles, including the House Democrats’ Moving Forward Act infrastructure legislative package (HR-2).