On Monday, a group of prominent technology organizations sent a joint letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick voicing their support for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the role it plays in, “advancing American leadership in artificial intelligence (AI) innovation.”
In the letter, the groups “caution that downsizing NIST” or eliminating key NIST initiatives “will have ramifications for the ability of the American AI industry to continue to lead globally.” This letter comes in the context of cuts to personnel at NIST and other significant changes at the Department of Commerce. Coverage of this development can be found in FedScoop.
This Week in Washington
- New York Times: In his recent address to Congress, President Trump criticized the CHIPS Act, a bipartisan law aimed at making the United States less reliant on Asia for semiconductors. He proposed replacing more than $36 billion in federal subsidies under the CHIPS Act with tariffs that increase the cost of making chips overseas.
- Route Fifty: The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a hearing examining the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. Some elected officials have criticized the program, while others support how states are using the program to get people connected.
- The Verge: In a new filing, the U.S. Department of Justice reaffirmed the previous administration’s support for compelling Google to sell off its browser Chrome and potentially the Android mobile operating system in response to last year’s ruling that the company is a monopolist. A hearing on remedies will be held next month.
- Reuters: The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is moving ahead with an antitrust probe of Microsoft focused on software licensing and cloud computing. The probe was launched in the last days of the Biden administration.
Article Summary
- New York Times: AI is being utilized in many ways to accelerate and transform scientific discovery and development, but a new startup is showing just how influential the tech may be in generating new drugs, new agriculture, and new materials to boost green energy.
- CNN: X, formerly Twitter, was hit by waves of outages, which owner Elon Musk claims were due to a cyberattack with IP addresses originating in Ukraine. Many users on DownDetector said the platform wouldn’t load, and the outage appeared to be global, according to DownDetector’s international sites.
- EdScoop: A new report from the admissions assessment and analytics company Acuity Insights highlights that artificial intelligence is exerting a growing influence in higher education and is expected to transform operations within higher ed institutions.
- Spectrum News: Rural Kentucky is reaping the benefits of expanded broadband, including one small town farm that has grown food for nearly a century and is now stepping into the digital age.
Featured Highlight
- Voices for Innovation
ICYMI: Last week, VFI held our first webinar of the year, “What’s on the Tech Policy Agenda for 2025,” featuring Microsoft General Manager of Public Policy Gerry Petrella. We encourage you to engage with VFI’s recap post on LinkedIn and take our survey to help pick future topics for VFI webinars.