Earlier this week, Microsoft kicked off its AI Skills Fest. Through May 28, students, businesspeople, tech professionals, and public sector employees can access a range of free AI training resources. We encourage you to explore this initiative. Building an AI-trained workforce will be critical to meeting the Administration’s goal of maintaining American leadership in AI.
Underscoring the rising importance of AI, this week the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI) released its 2025 AI Index Report, which showed the impact of AI on worker productivity. The report also revealed gaps in AI educational opportunities. The report is discussed in coverage from VentureBeat.
Thank you for reading. Below, we share recent tech policy news highlights and a featured podcast.
This Week in Washington
- The Hill: Sixteen sites have been identified by the Trump administration to develop AI data centers on land owned by the Department of Energy. The department said they hope to start data center operations by the end of 2027.
- FedScoop: The White House Office of Management and Budget released a pair of memos to provide agencies with guardrails for how they use and purchase AI in the government. The memos represent some of the first major policy actions taken by President Trump regarding the government’s use of AI.
- CyberScoop: A bipartisan pair of senators is taking another shot at advancing their bill, the Combatting Money Laundering in Cyber Crime Act, to expand the U.S. Secret Service’s investigative powers. The legislation would give the agency the authority to look into criminal activity tied to digital assets.
Article Summary
- StateScoop: Earlier this week, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly amended the state’s definition of a critical infrastructure facility to include telecommunications and broadband infrastructure.
- Axios: In a recent announcement, Meta revealed a new safety measure for its younger users. One of the new safety features requires parental permission for teens under the age of 16 to access livestream capabilities on Instagram.
- Bleeping Computer: Port of Seattle, the U.S. government agency overseeing Seattle’s seaport and airport, is notifying nearly 90,000 individuals of a data breach after their personal information was stolen in a ransomware attack last summer.
- John Hopkins University: Over the past few years, scientists at John Hopkins University have been fascinated with how AI can improve medical diagnoses. In fact, not only can AI technology help physicians reach faster diagnoses, but the technology can also help improve patient care.
Featured Highlight
- The Microsoft Threat Intelligence Podcast
Sherrod DeGrippo, podcast host and the Director of Threat Intelligence Security at Microsoft, is joined by several members of the Microsoft team to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary. Tune in and learn more about Microsoft’s cybersecurity journey over the last 50 years. (“Microsoft’s 50th Anniversary: Security Then and Now” – April 2, 2025)