San Francisco

Hilary Ronen, a supervisor at the consolidated city-county, has drafted legislation that would compel officials to list how and where artificial intelligence is used. Transparency is a main goal: “We’re not prohibiting any uses” of AI, she said.

A Populus survey of city transportation officials about curb and parking oversight shows their desire for better data analytics. Munis are confronting other challenges too, including managing deliveries and maintaining data sets.

Michael Makstman first stepped into the city’s CIO job in July, and he recently discussed his experience so far with running a $140 million department that has more than 260 employees.

Mayor London Breed announced the first three cameras will be deployed to monitor high-crime zones when police officers can't. The city also recently rolled out police-operated drones and automated license plate readers.

Tech and biotech companies have chopped hundreds more Bay Area jobs, with the latest staffing reductions hitting workers at two green energy companies and a veteran life sciences firm.

San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu is suing 16 websites that his office says use AI to create nonconsensual, fake nude images of women and girls, the first lawsuit of its kind, according to the city.

Plus, take a look at a visual of which states have had their BEAD proposals approved, find out about the Fiber Broadband Association’s new program for states and more.

The Bay Area Rapid Transit system cut service to many East Bay and South Bay stations for a time Thursday morning. Trains on its Orange and Green lines were being turned back at the Bay Fair station.

The department bought six drones this year after voters approved Proposition E, which lets police use surveillance cameras and drones to pursue felony and violent misdemeanor suspects. The drones facilitated three arrests in July.

Supporters say the ban would be the first to target software that allegedly played an outsized role in increasing the cost of housing — not just in San Francisco but across the country.

A new lawsuit says the city has ignored its law that requires elected official approval for facial recognition use for at least four years, allowing officers to use whatever surveillance techniques they choose.

Interim CIO Michael Makstman, in place since Jan. 1, has been made permanent and will lead the city-county’s Department of Technology. Makstman has been with San Francisco more than six years and was previously its CISO.

CISO, San Francisco

After years of sanctions from California, a San Francisco coding boot camp and its CEO have run afoul of federal authorities who accuse them of deceiving students and profiting from dodgy loan agreements.

Voters were projected to approve a ballot measure that will ease restrictions on vehicle pursuits, allowing for the use of more surveillance technology and reducing oversight from the Police Commission.

Two years in, officials are calling San Francisco’s Text Before Tow program — which lets residents sign up to get a text if their car is about to be towed — a success. Only 130 texts have gone out to participants, but more than half resulted in a vehicle being saved from an impending tow.

It’s a move happening statewide. In October, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation requiring all new school buses purchased after 2035 to be zero-emission vehicles.

CISO Michael Makstman explains what it takes to secure San Francisco, how the city is approaching generative AI and the importance of sharing information in the Coalition of City CISOs.