Happy Tuesday. Here’s your Tuesday Tech Drop, the past week’s top stories at the intersection of technology and politics.
Trump cuts program that helps MAGA go online
President Donald Trump is withholding federal funds from a program authorized by Congress during the Biden administration that provided digital skills and workforce training, along with high-speed internet access, to underserved areas, including rural and tribal areas. In announcing his plan to impound the funds authorized by the Digital Equity Act, Trump labeled the act “racist” and “unconstitutional.” As Greg Sargent writes for The New Republic, Trump’s nonsensical claims could “cut off millions” of dollars destined to reach many of his own voters, many of whom live in rural areas.
Read more at The New Republic.
GOP bill gives Big Tech a massive gift
House Republicans tucked a massive gift for Big Tech executives in their draft budget reconciliation bill. Specifically, they included language that would ban outright any state from regulating artificial intelligence for 10 years. The draft language — which would bar states from regulating, for example, AI models that are discriminatory or create deepfakes — says:
No state or political subdivision thereof may enforce any law or regulation regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems during the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.”
Read more at The Washington Post
Qatari plane causes security concerns
Among other concerns about Trump’s plan to accept a ritzy jumbo jet from the Qatari government to use as Air Force One, there is the glaring security issue. CNN has the details on the deep inspection that would be necessary to ensure this “gift” isn’t also rigged with high-tech surveillance equipment.
Read more at CNN.
Grok going X-rated?
Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot on Elon Musk’s X, has been flagged by concerned netizens who were disturbed after the bot reportedly fulfilled requests to generate images of other users without their clothes on.
Read more at PC Magazine.
Tribal data in danger under Trump
Some U.S. and Canadian indigenous groups are taking steps to protect their culture amid concerns about the loss and manipulation of their communities’ data as the Trump administration slashes federal programs and appears to be giving Musk and DOGE free rein to access government information.
As The Verge reports:
Indigenous communities are now concerned that the government may weaponize their data against them, using it to justify the surveillance of their activities or extraction of valuable resources on their lands.
Read more at The Verge.
Online fundraiser faces backlash
An online movement is afoot to hold payment processing companies and fundraising platforms accountable for efforts to profit off of hateful rhetoric and bigoted incidents. The latest push on this front came after a white Minnesota woman named Shiloh Hendrix raised hundreds of thousands of dollars on the MAGA-adjacent platform GiveSendGo, funds she garnered from sympathizers after she was filmed admitting to calling a 5-year-old the N-word.
An Atlanta-based activist named Kiandria Demone is campaigning to ensure companies that platform or aid such fundraisers face some sort of repercussion.
Read more at The Grio.
Hawley hates Meta’s reported crypto moves
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., isn’t a fan of Meta’s reported attempt to create and deploy its own cryptocurrencies. I criticized Meta when it tried this plan before back in 2019, and it looks like Hawley shares some of the same concerns about the company potentially reaching into our financial lives.
“Meta wants its own currency? What, so they can control our finances like they already try to control our entertainment, our elections, our news, and our kids? No thanks,” Hawley posted in response to a Fortune report on the company’s stablecoin venture.
Trump admin hawks Starlink
The U.S. State Department is proactively hawking Elon Musk’s internet service, Starlink, to countries he’s targeted with tariffs. And Lesotho has reportedly emerged as one of the countries that’s granted Musk’s company access to try to curry favor with Trump amid trade negotiations.
Read my blog at MSNBC.com.
Chatbot cheaters
New York magazine has a new report on the prevalence of artificial intelligence–assisted cheating among college students that raises serious questions about whether students will be prepared for post-college life and the inevitable scenarios in which they may not be able to depend on handy chatbots to provide the answers they need.
Read more at New York Magazine.