AI

HEALTH AND SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

CALIFORNIANS WOULD LOSE AI PROTECTIONS UNDER BILL ADVANCING IN CONGRESS

 

House Republicans want to ban state AI regulations for 10 years. California leaders are alarmed.

by Khari Johnson, Technology reporter, CalMatters.

This story was originally published by CalMattersSign up for their newsletters.

May 16, 2025

House Republicans moved to cut off artificial intelligence regulation by the states before it can take root, advancing legislation in Congress that, in California, would make it unlawful to enforce more than 20 laws passed by the Legislature and signed into law last year.

The moratorium, bundled in to a sweeping budget reconciliation bill this week, also threatens 30 bills the California Legislature is currently considering to regulate artificial intelligence, including one that would require reporting when an insurance company uses AI to deny health care and another that would require the makers of AI to evaluate how the tech performs before it’s used to decide on jobs, health care, or housing.

The California Privacy Protection Agency sent a letter to Congress Monday that says the moratorium “could rob millions of Americans of rights they already enjoy” and threatens critical privacy protections approved by California voters in 2020, such as the right to opt out of business use of automated decisionmaking technology and transparency about how their personal information is used.


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

REP. ISSA INTRODUCES BILL TO STOP MISUSE OF AI-GENERATED DIGITAL REPLICAS

East County News Service

Image: AI facial generation; CC by NC via Bing

August 22, 2024 (San Diego) -- Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-48) introduced the Preventing Abuse of Digital Replicas Act (PADRA), landmark legislation to protect the voice, image, and likeness of individuals from being used in unauthorized commercial ways.

The recent rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has led to a sharp increase in the number and sophistication of deceptive digital replicas being abused to mislead consumers. Such deepfakes were recently used to falsely portray actor Tom Hanks, country music star Lainey Wilson, and  Elon Musk, owner of Twitter, SpaceX and Tesla, as endorsing various products and services.

“AI is here to stay – and with it all the benefits and risks that are coming into view. We developed this legislation to give individuals the best opportunity to protect their image and likeness and stop its use without their permission for commercial gain,” said Rep. Issa, a Republican who represent portions of San Diego and East County.


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

LA MESA BANS PUBLIC REMOTE COMMENTS AFTER ANTI-SEMITIC RANTS; OTHER CITY COUNCILS AROUND NATION POINT TO AI GENERATED ASSAULT


By Michael Howard

 

Screenshot from City Council video: La Mesa City Attorney Gleen Sabine advises Council on free speech rights

 

March 3, 2024 (La Mesa, CA) - The La Mesa City Council in its February 27 meeting voted 4-1 to ban remote public comments moving forward, with Councilman Jack Shu casting the dissenting vote.


The agenda item cites a memo by City Clerk Megan Wiegelman that suggested “in the aftermath of COVID, remote public comment is no longer necessary.” But the move to disallow call-in and Zoom public comments during City Council meetings seems to be in response to theFebruary 13 Council meeting, in which several remote participants listed Jewish government officials and unleashed a barrage of anti-Semetic speech. 


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

TWO SAN DIEGO REPRESENTATIVES NAMED TO HOUSE TASK FORCE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: cc via Bing

February 21, 2024 (San Diego)—San Diego will be well represented on the House of Representatives’ new Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (AI). The bipartisan task force’s 24 members include two from San Diego—Democrat Sara Jacobs and Republican Darrell Issa.

The goals of the task force are to explore how Congress can drive innovation and maintain American leadership in AI, assure fair usage of the technology across numerous industries, and safeguard against current and emerging threats.


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

CAL FIRE AND UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SAN DIEGO'S ALERTCALIFORNIA PROGRAM JOIN FORCES TO ENHANCE WILDFIRE RESPONSES WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IMPLEMENTATION TRIAL

Source:  Cal Fire

August 5, 2023 (Sacramento) - The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) announced its groundbreaking partnership with University of California San Diego’s ALERTCalifornia program. With the shared goal of improving firefighting capabilities and response times, CAL FIRE and ALERTCalifornia will embark on an innovative Artificial Intelligence (AI) implementation trial in collaboration with the San Bernardino Unit, Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit, Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit, Nevada Yuba Placer Unit, Shasta-Trinity Unit and San Luis Obispo Unit.


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.