Generative AI in Government: What to Expect in 2025

by Elizabeth Moon

2025 may be a major year for generative AI adoption across government.

The year 2024 saw the public sector cautiously dipping its toes into the generative AI (gen AI) waters with pilot programs and experiments. Driven by the need to streamline operations and meet rising constituent expectations, these early initiatives demonstrated the potential of gen AI to deliver tangible value and ROI. Now, as we enter 2025, expect to see a significant shift from experimentation to widespread adoption.

Gen AI is poised to fundamentally transform how government agencies operate, enabling new levels of efficiency and constituent-centric service delivery. Here are four key trends that will shape this evolution in the coming year:

 Read full story at NextGov/FCW…

US Splits World Into Three Tiers for AI Chip Access

by  Benj Edwards

While close US allies get unrestricted AI chip access, the rest of the world has numerical limits.

… The US government announced a new round of regulations on global AI chip exports, dividing the world into roughly three tiers of access. The rules create quotas for about 120 countries and allow unrestricted access for 18 close US allies while maintaining existing bans on China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

AI-accelerating GPU chips, like those manufactured by Nvidia, currently serve as the backbone for a wide variety of AI model deployments, such as chatbots like ChatGPT, AI video generators, self-driving cars, weapons targeting systems, and much more. The Biden administration fears that those chips could be used to undermine US national security.

According to the White House, lqIn the wrong hands, powerful AI systems have the potential to exacerbate significant national security risks, including by enabling the development of weapons of mass destruction, supporting powerful offensive cyber operations, and aiding human rights abuses.”

 Read full story at arsTechnica…

What Does the Interior Secretary Do?

by  Emily Wakild

The Interior secretary manages vast lands that all Americans share — and can sway the balance between conservation and development.

The Interior Department created in 1849 as the United States was rapidly expanding and acquiring territory. It became known as “the department of everything else” for its enormous portfolio of missions, which ranged from western expansion to oversight of the District of Columbia jail.

Interior handles natural resources and domestic affairs — primarily managing 480 million acres (200 million hectares) of federal lands and developing the assets that they hold. Many of these lands are officially open for multiple uses, including energy development, mining, logging, livestock grazing and recreation. Those activities have numerous constituencies, whose interests can clash.

 Read full story at Government Executive…

Announcing The Stargate Project

by  O Open AI

The Stargate Project is a new company which intends to invest $500 billion over the next four years building new AI infrastructure for OpenAI in the United States. We will begin deploying $100 billion immediately.

This infrastructure will secure American leadership in AI, create hundreds of thousands of American jobs, and generate massive economic benefit for the entire world. This project will not only support the re-industrialization of the United States but also provide a strategic capability to protect the national security of America and its allies.

The initial equity funders in Stargate are SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX. SoftBank and OpenAI are the lead partners for Stargate, with SoftBank having financial responsibility and OpenAI having operational responsibility. Masayoshi Son will be the chairman.

Arm, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Oracle, and OpenAI are the key initial technology partners. The buildout is currently underway, starting in Texas, and we are evaluating potential sites across the country for more campuses as we finalize definitive agreements

 Read full story at Open AI…

How to Completely Disappear From the Internet

by  Eric Griffin

Want to mask your online identity and shield your data from those who wish to surveil you? Here are all the steps you should take.

Some might say the internet was built on anonymity, paving the way for a place where free speech reigns supreme. But after years of learning about who's snooping into everything we do online, privacy on the web is hardly a given.

It's not just about government spying; it's also about how much data big companies such as Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Meta (Facebook), and Microsoft have collected to serve up targeted ads — not to mention how much of your personal data gets scooped up in all the breaches and hacks.

There are good reasons for people to go online without being tracked. For example, anonymity may be the only way for a true whistleblower to reveal corruption, considering how some have been treated. But there's nothing wrong with wanting to stay anonymous, no matter what you're doing.

 Read full story at PCMag…

How to Set Up God Mode in Windows 11 — and the Wonders You Can Do With It

by  Lance Whitney

God Mode provides easy access to an array of Windows settings from one single window. Here's how it works.

Accessing all the settings and options in Windows 11 can be challenging, as they're spread across a variety of categories in both the Settings app and Control Panel. An option called God Mode eases the process by providing a gateway to all the core options on one screen.

By setting up the special God Mode folder, you can view the settings for Backup and Restore, Color Management, Devices and Printers, Ease of Access, File History, Mouse, Power Options, Programs and Features, Security and Maintenance, Speech Recognition, Troubleshooting, User Accounts, and much more.

God Mode is especially useful for advanced Windows users and developers who like to manage and tweak all the nitty-gritty details of Windows. But it can also prove helpful to anyone who wants an array of commands available in one place.

 Read full story at ZDNet…

Data Center Executives Pivot Toward Onsite Power

by  Kevin Clark

Data center leaders told Bloom Energy they expected approximately 30% of all sites to use some onsite power as a primary energy source supplemental to the grid by 2030.

Onsite turbines, reciprocating engines and fuel cells will increasingly power data centers, according to a survey by fuel cell manufacturer Bloom Energy.

In April and November 2024, Bloom surveyed a range of managers to C-suite executives from hyperscaler and colocation developer companies. The 100 data center leaders make decisions about power systems architecture.

Historically, data centers have used onsite power mostly for backup purposes. The shift toward onsite power generation as a primary source of power comes in response to data centers facing grid connection delays. Leveraging onsite power could also ease pressure on the nation's aging electric grid.

In November, data center leaders said they expected approximately 30% of all data center sites to use some onsite power as a primary energy source supplemental to the grid by 2030, 2.3 times more than just seven months earlier.

The report noted there were more data center announcements featuring onsite power in 2024 than the previous four years combined.

 Read full story at Power Engineering…

Feds Offer New Data, Research to Refresh States’ Water Woes

by  Kaitlyn Levinson

A new report and data tool from the U.S. Geological Survey can help policymakers better understand where water supply risks exist in the U.S. to inform efforts to better manage the critical resource.

Across the U.S., states have been grappling with increasing water supply and water quality complications largely driven by climate change, aging infrastructure and pollution. A new research and data resource from the U.S. Geological Survey looks to help inform policymakers' and other stakeholder' efforts to address water supply risks in their communities.

In Kansas late last year, for instance, several communities'water supplies were contaminated by nitrate pollution from crop fertilizer. The situation led to the city of Pratt turning off two wells that make up a quarter of the town's water supply, sparking concerns of future water shortages if municipalities like Pratt have to continue shutting off that supply.

 Read full story at Route Fifty…

Shorter Interconnection Timelines? DOE Releases New Roadmap, Targets for Distributed Energy

by  Sean Wolfe

The DOE argues that DER interconnection processes at the distribution and sub-transmission system levels need to evolve to handle the growing volume of customer demand.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (i2X) has released a new roadmap meant to lead to shorter timelines and “better outcomes” for connecting clean energy resources to the distribution and sub-transmission grids.

The Distributed Energy Resource Interconnection Roadmap sets targets and strategies intended to improve interconnection processes and maintain the reliability of the electric grid. DOE also announced $16 million in upcoming funding to support stakeholder engagement and technical assistance to adopt interconnection strategies on the distribution and transmission grids.

Additionally, DOE and the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation announced $2.1 million for selected distribution utilities to pilot interconnection software solutions. To encourage collaboration, DOE launched i2X Connect, an online platform that provides a space for interconnection stakeholders to exchange ideas and know-how. Improving interconnection processes will reduce costs, shorten timelines, and support a reliable, resilient electric grid.

 Read full story at PowerGrid International…