AI Insights

Govt. AI Assessment Ranks States’ Readiness, Adoption Levels

Published

8 hours ago

July 9, 2025

An AI readiness assessment released Wednesday by Code for America explores how U.S. state governments are preparing for the AI-powered public-sector transformation and identifies emerging trends within that shift.

Trends highlighted in the analysis include the rise of chief AI officers, investment in training programs, an evolving cybersecurity threat landscape, state-level policymaking, and secure sandbox environments for experimentation.

The Government AI Landscape Assessment explores AI readiness in three areas: leadership and governance, capacity building, and technical infrastructure and capabilities. The resource classifies states’ readiness levels in each of these areas under one of four categories: early, developing, established or advanced. The early classification includes states that have taken the initial steps in AI adoption, while the advanced classification recognizes states with sophisticated capabilities, frameworks and approaches.

States leading in readiness, according to this assessment, are Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Utah, each of which received two “advanced” classifications and one “established” classification.

Each of these states has prioritized AI readiness. Pennsylvania has been testing and measuring AI for impact, and New Jersey is taking an economy-focused approach to AI and has been an early implementer of AI training. Utah has been an early AI adopter and even recently created an AI policy office that aims to answer societal AI questions.

Overall, in the category of leadership and governance, only three states were classified as advanced. Half, or 25, were classified as established; 16 as developing; and seven as early. Washington, D.C., was included as a state in this assessment. Utah and North Carolina were highlighted for their work in this area.In AI capacity building, four states were classified as advanced, 10 as established, 23 as developing, and 14 as early. New Jersey and Pennsylvania were highlighted for their work here.

In technical infrastructure and capabilities, three states were classified as advanced, 16 as established, 23 as developing, and nine as early. Colorado and Minnesota were highlighted for their work in this.

“This analysis demonstrates what many of us know to be true: states are leading the way when it comes to adopting AI to make government more efficient and effective,” Jenn Thom, Code for America’s senior director of data science, said in a statement.

The assessment was created by reviewing public materials, AI-focused legislation and policy, guidance and reports, news coverage, and direct input.

Debate has arisen recently about whether AI policymaking should occur at the state or federal level, with the consensus largely being that both should have a role in regulation. With the removal of a provision to enact a moratorium on state-level AI regulation from the federal budget bill, states retain the authority to enact policy to guide responsible AI use.

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Rock band with more than 1 million Spotify listeners reveals it’s entirely AI-generated — down to the musicians themselves

Published

1 hour ago

July 10, 2025

The Editors

A fresh new rock band that quickly shot to Spotify’s top ranks announced that it’s actually wholly generated by artificial intelligence, just one month after its celebrated debut album earned it one million listeners.

The ’60s-inspired rock-and-roll band, the Velvet Sundown, revealed on Saturday that nothing about it is real after fans of the up-and-coming artists noticed there were virtually no traces of any people associated with it online.

Its debut album, “Floating on Echoes,” was released on June 5 to mass appeal online.

The most popular song in the album, pro-peace folk rock song “Dust on the Wind,” clinched the No. 1 spot for Spotify’s daily “Viral 50” chart in Britain, Norway and Sweden between June 29 and July 1.

All the while, the one million monthly listeners who started following the Velvet Sundown had no idea they were just listening to a mass of artificial intelligence made by fake musicians.

The photos of the band shared online and featured on the album’s cover were unnaturally smooth and matte and the guitarist’s hand was wonky with fused fingers gripping his instrument — a classic hallmark of AI-generated images.

The band’s lyrics, too, were a perfect mesh of generic anti-war sentiments and other clichés like “Nothin’ lasts forever but the earth and sky, it slips away, and all your money won’t another minute buy.”

The faux rockstars were also pumping out new albums scarily — and inhumanly — fast, releasing two in June alone and another set for mid-July.

The band finally revealed its secret over the weekend.

It updated its Spotify biography Saturday to reflect the AI twist, assuring that the project hadn’t been trying to bamboozle its audience.

“The Velvet Sundown is a synthetic music project guided by human creative direction, and composed, voiced, and visualized with the support of artificial intelligence. This isn’t a trick – it’s a mirror. An ongoing artistic provocation designed to challenge the boundaries of authorship, identity, and the future of music itself in the age of AI,” the biography reads.

Some people who had seen through the band’s ploy early tried to take advantage of its viral success before the truth came out.

A Quebec-based web safety expert posed as a spokesperson for the Velvet Sundown under the pseudonym Andrew Frelon, which translates to hornet in French, and even slid false information to Rolling Stone magazine about his supposed clients.

But the man behind the Frelon quickly confessed that he was just trying to troll people online.

It’s unclear if the Velvet Sundown will face any backlash from Spotify or any other platforms where it may be eligible for streaming revenue.

Starting on July 15, YouTube announced that it would be cutting all monetization, including advertisements, for any content generated by AI.

In late June, popular YouTuber Mr.Beast announced a tool that would use AI to make thumbnails for videos. He quickly removed it after receiving backlash for supporting an artificial intelligence engine, which often requires massive amounts of energy that would steadily offset his years of environmental work and reforestation efforts.

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Smart medicine: Artificial intelligence reaches the health fund – The Jerusalem Post

Published

1 hour ago

July 10, 2025

The Editors

Smart medicine: Artificial intelligence reaches the health fund The Jerusalem Post

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Teachers Training on AI

Published

3 hours ago

July 10, 2025

The Editors

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – Some leading tech companies are investing millions to train teachers on how to use artificial intelligence. The $23 million initiative is backed by Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, and two teachers’ unions. The goal is to train 400,000 kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers in artificial intelligence over the next five years. The National Academy of AI Instruction announced the effort. The group states that it will develop an AI training curriculum for teachers that can be distributed online and at an in-person campus in New York City.

The announcement comes as schools, teachers, and parents grapple with whether—and how—AI should be used in the classroom. Educators want to ensure students know how to use a technology that’s already transforming workplaces, while teachers can use AI to automate some tasks and spend more time engaging with students.

Samsung unveils its new line of foldable devices at Unpacked

The future is here—Samsung is showcasing its future-ready smartphones! Check out the new Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the Z Flip 7 taking center stage at the company’s latest Unpacked event. The Korean electronics company unveiled the upgrades, including new versions of its watch, and also announced an expanded partnership with Google to inject more artificial intelligence into its foldable lineup. For example, users can access AI by speaking to their watch! Oh, and yes… it also tells you the time.

The Fold 7 will retail starting at $1,999. Pre-orders start today, and the device will hit shelves on July 25.

The Galaxy Z Flip 7 will retail for $1,099.99 and the Flip 7 FE starts at $899.99. Pre-orders for both devices began Wednesday and both will be available generally on July 25.

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