President Donald Trump's ties to powerful figures continued to draw scrutiny, with several recent developments highlighting potential conflicts of interest and the administration's use of emerging technologies. These developments included the selection of a new Federal Reserve chair, the use of AI by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and questions surrounding a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump.
President Trump announced on Friday that he would nominate Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as Fed Chair when Powell's term expired in May, according to Fortune. Warsh, 55, was described as a "somewhat surprising choice" given his differing views on monetary policy compared to Trump. Fortune noted that Warsh is an "inflation hawk" who favors a strong dollar, while Trump had expressed a desire for a more dovish chair. Adding another layer of intrigue, Fortune reported that Warsh's billionaire father-in-law is a college friend of Trump's with business interests in Greenland.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was revealed to be utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) video generators from Google and Adobe to create and edit content for public consumption, MIT Technology Review reported. A document released on Wednesday showed DHS using Google's Veo 3 video generator and Adobe Firefly for public affairs materials. This revelation came amidst increasing scrutiny of immigration agencies' social media content, some of which appeared to be AI-generated, and pressure from tech workers on their employers to denounce the agencies' activities, according to MIT Technology Review. The document provided an inventory of commercial AI tools DHS uses for tasks ranging from generating drafts of documents to managing cybersecurity.
In other news, the creators of Amazon's "Melania" documentary defended its $40 million price tag following accusations of bribery intended to appease the Trump organization, The Verge reported. The Verge clarified that the project was described as a "creative experience" rather than a traditional documentary. Amazon reportedly paid $40 million to Melania Trump's production company for the project.
Separately, in Wisconsin, at least four communities signed secrecy deals related to the construction of billion-dollar data centers, according to Hacker News, citing a report by Wisconsin Watch. The report highlighted how Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, kept a $1 billion, 520-acre data center project proposed by Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, hidden for over a year. The data center complex was described as being "as big as 12 football fields."
These various developments collectively raised questions about transparency, potential conflicts of interest, and the ethical implications of using AI in government communications.
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