Emerging Tech

The University of North Dakota Center for Innovation has awarded three companies grants of $150,000 each to explore use cases for drones in undeveloped areas of the state. The project could raise new business questions.

As public agencies craft policies for artificial intelligence, Darwin is selling tools that can help officials plan their AI deployments and keep them in compliance. The funding comes amid bans for China’s DeepSeek.

Members of the House of Representatives IT Budget and Policy Subcommittee questioned artificial intelligence’s impact on the state workforce and its open records policy, expressing concern it could replace staffers.

Mayor Jon Costas announced that the city will stop exploring the feasibility of a data center in the city after a large crowd of residents voiced vociferous opposition to the project at a City Council meeting.

A proposed law would require the state Department of Correction to produce a report on what it would take to institute non-invasive body scanners in order to limit the use of strip searches.

After a state inquiry, NorthWestern Energy has offered more details on its plans for two proposed data centers near Butte, Mont. The endeavor, it said, will support capital investments and infrastructure improvements.

Data centers are starting to set up across Texas, and they require more electricity to power their scores of hard drives and AI computing than what is needed by entire municipalities.

Aiming to reignite a long-dormant nuclear energy industry, a lawmaker in the state House is proposing to create taxpayer-funded incentive programs to build nuclear power plants in Texas.

A bill proposed by state Sen. Saud Anwar seeks to amend state code to bar health insurance carriers from using AI to determine patient care. The aim is “to safeguard patient access to testing, medications and procedures.”

The Atlanta region emerged as the country’s top data center market for leasing activity in 2024, dethroning Northern Virginia for the first time since the Internet altered nearly every aspect of modern life.

The startup company Last Energy plans to build 30 "micro" nuclear power plants an hour north of Abilene in response to demand from data centers in Texas over the last year.

New York’s CIO says the agreement will help boost security and data analytics while also encouraging more data sharing among agencies. Artificial intelligence also is part of this two-year effort.

The Texas A&M University System has an agreement with World Wide Technologies Inc., a NVIDIA channel partner, to purchase an AI supercomputer to support research in AI, graphics rendering and scientific simulations.

As some public safety agencies are experiencing more flexibility and speed in getting waivers from the Federal Aviation Administration for advanced drone programs, experts predict the use of UAS to rapidly rise.

Lawmakers in Arkansas and Missouri are considering legislation that would bolster cyber reporting and data privacy standards for businesses; and, in Texas, tighten cybersecurity standards for water utilities.

Leaders in the area, a regional industrial and manufacturing hub, have said the facilities cost too much and don’t employ enough people. Finding enough power to run them, regional officials said, could be tough.

The state’s House of Representatives has passed a bill that would regulate virtual currency kiosks — licensing operators and capping the amount someone can put into a kiosk daily. It has moved to the state Senate.

The Seattle-based company has said operations in the Gilliam County city of nearly 600 could be many years off, but planning for the installation is already underway. It could deliver millions of dollars a year to the city and county.