The Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously Thursday to advance the Guidelines for User Age-verification and Responsible Dialogue (GUARD) Act, S.3062, sponsored by Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), The Hill reported. The bill would prohibit AI companion chatbots for users under 18 and require operators to prevent AI chatbots from exposing minors to sexual or harmful content. The committee held the markup noted in AIPD's April 30th edition. The bill now heads to the Senate floor.
Read at The Hill ↗
The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously Thursday to advance a proposal that would bar Chinese labs from testing electronic devices destined for the U.S. market, the South China Morning Post reported. The proposal would cover smartphones, cameras and computers, per the report. The article said about 75% of testing for U.S.-bound electronics currently occurs in Chinese labs. The FCC said it plans a faster approval process for devices tested in U.S. labs or labs based in non-risk countries.
Read at South China Morning Post ↗
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing federal agencies to treat fixed-price contracts with performance-based consideration as "the default and preferred method of procurement," with cost-reimbursement contracts becoming the exception, FedScoop reported. The order cites a review of fiscal 2024 spending that found roughly $120 billion obligated on cost-reimbursement contracts, where contractors receive profit margins on top of expenses and reimbursement for "allowed incurred costs." The directive said the shift would "advance cost predictability and budget discipline" and lock in "appropriate contractor incentives and accountability." OMB has 45 days from signing to issue agency guidance on implementing the procurement shift, per the EO.
Read at FedScoop ↗
Elon Musk acknowledged on the witness stand Thursday that xAI used distillation techniques on OpenAI models to train Grok, TechCrunch reported. Asked whether xAI used distillation on OpenAI's chatbots and APIs, Musk said it was a general practice among AI companies. When pressed for a yes-or-no answer, he said "Partly." The article noted the distillation conversation has focused on Chinese firms creating open-weight models from U.S. offerings, while American labs are widely assumed to use the techniques on each other. Musk's testimony concluded after a third day on the stand in Musk v. Altman in U.S. District Court in Oakland, California, with Greg Brockman and Musk's adviser Jared Birchall expected to testify next.
Read at TechCrunch ↗ • Read at WSJ ↗
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-5-26 directing state agencies to develop new standards governing the procurement and use of artificial intelligence, Morgan Lewis attorneys said in a JD Supra writeup. The EO seeks to regulate AI developers and deployers by laying groundwork for additional guardrails on AI companies seeking to do business with the state, per the firm's analysis. Required vendor expectations will include certification, disclosure and risk management. State agencies will draft the procurement standards under the order's mandate.
Read at JD Supra ↗
The Minnesota Senate voted 65-0 Wednesday to pass legislation banning "nudification" apps, which use generative AI to create nonconsensual nude images from photographs of clothed people, The 19th reported. The bill targets the apps themselves, the country's first such prohibition rather than a restriction on the resulting deepfake content. The state House passed the measure last week. The bill now heads to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz for his signature, with advocates expecting him to sign.
Read at Truthout ↗