Acquisition

GSA inks OneGov deal with Grok AI

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok AI, will be available to agencies for $0.42 as part of the OneGov procurement program.

Acquisition

Meta offers agencies access to its open source AI models through OneGov deal

The agreement will allow government customers to use Meta’s Llama models, which are already publicly available, with the assurance that they meet federal requirements.

Cybersecurity

CISA wants more international involvement in cyber vulnerability catalog, official says

Nick Andersen, the agency’s assistant executive director for cybersecurity, says the CVE project would benefit from a "more holistic look" with international partners.

Artificial Intelligence

US-UK tech partnership likely to be signed Thursday

President Donald Trump’s U.K. state visit will solidify the landmark tech deal that works to support both nations' technology innovation.

Artificial Intelligence

Anthropic CEO sees 3 areas where policymakers can help with AI

Dario Amodei shared the risk mitigation areas government officials should focus on to balance AI innovation and safety in the U.S.

Cybersecurity

CISA ready to accept any extension for key cyber info-sharing law, official says

“Give us two years. Give us ten years. Give us 50. Whatever you take, we’ll take it,” CISA’s Nick Andersen said of the soon-to-expire 2015 Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act.

Artificial Intelligence

FTC orders leading AI companies to detail chatbot safety measures

The consumer protection body ordered seven leading tech companies to submit details on how they protect child users from chatbot harms.

Artificial Intelligence

Draft bill from Ted Cruz would establish a federal AI sandbox in OSTP

The federal regulatory artificial intelligence sandbox program would be set up within the Office of Science and Technology Policy, offering waivers from existing rules.

Cybersecurity

White House cyber office calls for ‘whole of nation’ effort to deter nation-state hackers

Newly-confirmed ONCD director Sean Cairncross wants to work with the private sector to develop a toolkit for stopping foreign hackers and boosting U.S. cyberdefenses.

Acquisition

Perplexity announces new government-focused services

The AI company said its new “Perplexity for Government” initiative will automatically identify federal networks to provide tailored search and security services.

People

SSA announces leadership team light on government experience

The agency’s new leadership roster — announced alongside a reorganization plan sources say is short on details — is intended to bring a fresh perspective into SSA, its commissioner said. Critics argue they lack the expertise usually required of most agency leaders.

Artificial Intelligence

Agencies and industry announce efforts to further Presidential AI Challenge

The Trump administration is angling to leverage private sector partnerships and an all-hands agency approach to establish a robust U.S. AI workforce and education platform.

Cybersecurity

House panel advances bill to extend bedrock cyber info-sharing law

Some Republicans want to ensure there’s language that would prevent the nation’s core cyberdefense agency from engaging in alleged “censorship” of Americans’ free speech.

Acquisition

ServiceNow, GSA strike OneGov deal to drive government AI adoption

Government customers can access discounts of up to 70% off select ServiceNow products through the deal.

Emerging Tech

Oak Ridge announces new quantum computing installation

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Quantum Brilliance are marrying quantum and classical systems to advance research in multiple domains.

Acquisition

Microsoft offers major discounts to government customers in latest ‘OneGov’ deal

The discounts could be worth as much as $3.1 billion in year one, according to the General Services Administration.

Artificial Intelligence

Advocacy groups ask OMB to axe Grok AI procurement

Citing vulnerabilities and biased outputs in the program, multiple advocacy organizations and nonprofits signed a letter to the Office of Management and Budget asking it to bar Elon Musk’s Grok from federal workflows.

Exclusive People

Meet the Trump appointee apparently maintaining 'unheard of' ties to Tesla

Thomas Shedd, who heads the Technology Transformation Services at the General Services Administration, reported on his public financial disclosures that he is “on a leave of absence” from Tesla in a rare arrangement, according to experts.

Emerging Tech

Microsoft announces plan to transition to quantum resilience by 2033

Microsoft is taking a phased approach to ensuring its products meet a post-quantum cryptography standard.

Cybersecurity

UK ‘agreed to drop’ backdoor encryption demand for Apple, DNI says

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said the United Kingdom has abandoned its effort to require that Apple provide its law enforcement and intelligence personnel with “blanket capability” to access customers’ encrypted files.