AI Week in Review - 6/28/25

The Details

Federal

Fed chair Powell says AI is coming for your job
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told senators AI hasn’t yet jarred the labor market, but its vast potential portends sweeping, unpredictable economic and job-market disruptions.

Fed judge says copyrighted books are fair use for AI training
Federal Judge William Alsup ruled Anthropic’s AI training on copyrighted books is transformative fair use, though the firm may still face damages for having sourced millions of pirated copies.

Are EOs coming that will power AI growth an counter China?
Trump administration readies executive orders to speed grid hookups, grant federal land for data centers, and unveil a July 23 AI action plan, fueling rapid AI expansion amid soaring power demand.

Congress considers banning DeepSeek
Federal agencies have already blocked China’s DeepSeek AI, with only one recorded access attempt, as Congress weighs a formal ban that still allows research and mission-critical exceptions.

GAO looks at how AI helps fight fires
GAO reports satellites, drones, camera-sensor networks and AI-powered models can sharpen U.S. wildfire forecasting and response, yet face data gaps, high costs, remote-area limits and accuracy risks.

Modernizing DOD Civ HR
AI could streamline DoD civilian hiring, classification and analytics, but success hinges on clean data, robust governance and careful legal safeguards before widescale rollout.

State / Local

Leon County School Board approves AI policy
The Leon County School Board has cleared closed-system AI tools for research, translation, and accessibility, pairing them with a tough academic-honesty policy that threatens penalties up to expulsion.

Santa Monica launches AI-powered bus lane enforcement
Santa Monica will deploy AI cameras on buses July 1 to automatically ticket vehicles blocking bus lanes, expanding city surveillance while aiming to speed transit and promote sustainability.

TX Responsible AI Governance Act becomes law
Texas’s new Responsible AI Governance Act, effective 2026, bans manipulative, discriminatory, or illicit AI uses, creates a regulatory sandbox, and forms an advisory council, empowering the attorney general for enforcement.

NC uses AI to return unclaimed property
North Carolina’s Treasury partnered with OpenAI to pilot ChatGPT tools that analyze public data to spot businesses holding unclaimed property, accelerating its recovery and potentially returning millions to rightful owners.

Cobb County uses AI to train 911 dispatchers
Cobb County, Georgia, is immersing 911 recruits in adaptive, realistic emergency-call scenarios to build confidence before they go live.

San Jose is a ‘Civic Sandbox’ for AI
San Jose positions itself as the “capital of AI” by granting startup incentives, piloting civic-focused AI projects and nurturing an experimental “civic sandbox” ecosystem to drive economic growth.

NY Gov announces $40M to launch Empire AI supercomputer
Governor Kathy Hochul commits $40 million to build Empire AI Beta, an 11-times stronger supercomputer accelerating New York’s $500 million public-good AI consortium across ten research institutions.

NH warns of AI scams
New Hampshire’s Attorney General warns residents that AI-powered deepfakes, fake profiles and personalized phishing are driving new financial scams, offering practical tips and resources in a Consumer Insight newsletter.

Maine Gov. signs AI laws
Maine Governor Janet Mills signed Rep. Amy Kuhn’s bills expanding revenge-porn protections to AI deepfakes and mandating clear disclosure when consumers converse with AI chatbots, bolstering digital-age safeguards.

3-mile island opens for AI biz
Constellation plans to restart Three Mile Island Unit 1 in 2027—one year ahead of schedule—as the Crane Clean Energy Center, powering Microsoft’s AI-hungry data centers and energizing Pennsylvania’s economy.

ChatGPT uncovers millions for NC
North Carolina’s 12-week ChatGPT pilot helped Treasury locate millions in unclaimed property and boost efficiency, prompting independent analysis by NCCU’s Institute for AI.

International

Why China’s AI breakthroughs are not a surprise
China’s rapid generative-AI gains flow from years of state-aligned investment, abundant STEM talent, efficiency innovations under chip sanctions, and a techno-optimistic culture that speeds nationwide deployment.

AI use in the UK National Health Systems
An NHS Confederation study says AI aids communications teams with drafting, accessibility and insight, yet uneven use and governance gaps require a unified operating framework, ethics guardrails and targeted training.

Vietnam: Legislature Must Lead Public Sector Digital Reform
Vietnam’s National Assembly chair stresses accelerating AI-driven digital transformation—via new laws, apps and data digitization—to modernize legislative processes, strengthen governance and exemplify national innovation.

AI transforms Indian call centers
AI-powered accent translation, chatbots and agent co-pilots are reshaping India’s $280 billion BPO sector—creating niche data-centric roles while menacing millions of routine call-center jobs.

Australia’s AI ecosystem
Australia’s AI sector is surging—dominated by small firms and urban clusters, aligned with traditional industries—yet a commercialization gap leaves prolific research under-converted into patents and products.

Everything Else

Hertz turns to AI to scan rental cars for damage – it may cost you!
Hertz is deploying AI-powered UVeye scanners at U.S. rental locations, promising faster, more precise damage checks but early users report hefty extra fees for minor scratches.

Anthropic wins in AI copyright lawsuit
A federal judge ruled Anthropic’s training of chatbot Claude on copyrighted books is transformative fair use, but the company must still face trial for sourcing pirated copies.

The AI revolution won’t happen overnight
Enterprise AI will deliver value far slower than hype suggests; misconceptions about adoption, valuations, models, startups, and gen-AI primacy threaten wasted resources unless leaders prioritize integration, applications, and measured ROI.

The rise of the personal AI advisors
Gen Z is swapping traditional search for personalized, always-on AI agents that serve as health, career, finance and relationship advisors, heralding a shift from searching to consulting.

Goldman Sachs announces firmwide launch of AI assistant
Goldman Sachs has launched its firmwide GS AI Assistant, a generative-AI tool integrated with multiple approved LLMs to aid employees in document summarization, coding and data analysis across all departments.

AI is doing 50% of the work at Salesforce
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says AI now handles 30-50 % of company tasks with 93 % accuracy, driving cost savings and workforce shifts across the tech sector.

Claude can now build interactive AI-powered apps
Anthropic’s new Claude update adds an artifacts hub and beta embedding, empowering anyone to convert conversational ideas into interactive, shareable AI-powered apps—no coding required.

Companies aren’t ready for AI-powered threats
A survey of 2,286 billion-dollar-company tech and security leaders reveals that most firms are accelerating AI adoption despite lacking governance and confidence to defend against fast-evolving AI-driven cyber threats.