In conjunction with President Trump’s trip to Asia, the U.S. signed Trade Prosperity Deals (TPDs) with Japan and South Korea focused on a number of key technology areas, including AI, quantum, fusion power, biotech, 6G, and more. In addition to supporting collaborative innovation, the TPDs will help foster safety and regulatory alignment.
Thank you for reading. We’ve rounded up additional tech policy news and a featured highlight below.
This Week in Washington
- FedScoop: In a letter to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Courts Administrative Office said they have a robust interim AI use policy in place. The policy encourages courts to experiment with AI tools while providing guidance on cybersecurity standards and protecting the integrity of judicial opinions.
- CNBC: The Department of Energy and chipmaker AMD announced a $1 billion partnership to build two supercomputers, including one they plan to get online within the next six months. The Department of Energy hopes to use the supercomputers in the development of fusion energy and other critical scientific advances.
- Axios: A month after the expiration of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015, National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross announced the White House is in favor of a clean 10-year reauthorization. The landmark law provided liability protections to companies that shared critical cybersecurity information with the government.
- CNET: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to move forward with a rule to reduce transparency requirements on broadband plan information. The rule, which is expected to pass, would simplify a 2022 rule requiring labels for plans in the style of nutrition labels.
Article Summary
- The Spokesman Review: A new study found that the proliferation of data centers is not the cause of electricity price increases. Instead, price increases are linked to rising equipment costs, environmental factors like wildfires, and overall national inflation trends.
- StateScoop: The historic town of Vail, Colorado, has launched a new AI platform that will modernize IT operations and integrate data into a new agentic AI system. The system utilizes a half dozen AI tools to optimize data collection and analysis across the municipality.
- Bleeping Computer: Just 23% of ransomware requests were paid in the third quarter of this year, an all-time low rate, according to a new report from Coveware. The report also found that threat groups are focusing on medium-sized firms and offering bribes to employees to gain access.
Featured Highlight
- Microsoft on the Issues
AI is leading to stunning scientific discoveries, and Microsoft TechSpark, combined with the AI agentic platform Microsoft Discovery, is leading the way. TechSpark drives innovation through skilling, economic development, and community-building. On Microsoft on the Issues, Mike Egan discusses the promise of TechSpark and a new partnership with New Jersey’s AI Hub to take innovation to the next level. (Microsoft TechSpark partners with TitletownTech and the New Jersey AI Hub to accelerate scientific discovery – October 29, 2025)
Note: Voices for Innovation regularly shares a range of opinion articles and press releases from organizations in and publications covering tech policy. These pieces are meant to educate our audience, not to endorse specific platforms or bills.