Author Archive

Alexandra Kelley

Staff Correspondent, Nextgov/FCW

Alexandra Kelley
Alexandra Kelley reports on emerging technology for Nextgov/FCW. Her most recent post was covering breaking news for The Hill where she focused on a variety of quantitative subjects, including Big Tech and the economy, in addition to covering the coronavirus pandemic since late 2019. She graduated from Kenyon College in 2017. If you have a tip you'd like to share, Alexandra can be securely contacted at alexak17.64 on Signal.
Policy

Tech bills of the week: Mandatory AI RMF usage; AI for energy generation and storage; and more

New legislative proposals aim to use artificial intelligence to improve energy generation and storage, along with government workflows and women’s health care.

Artificial Intelligence

NIST aims for summer release of AI cyber guidelines

Draft iterations of cybersecurity guidance for AI-driven threats across different types of emerging systems are in development as the federal government wades into AI model risk assessments.

Policy

Tech bills of the week: Limiting data harvesting; AI for financial fraud prevention; and more

Although Congress was off this week, lawmakers still introduced several measures looking to examine the use of AI tools and protect mass gathering from malicious drone threats.

Artificial Intelligence

Pentagon will ‘never again’ rely on a single AI provider, official says

Defense Under Secretary for Research and Engineering Emil Michael said new agreements with Big Tech companies are a “counterstatement” to the ongoing Anthropic-Pentagon conflict as the agency prioritizes flexible contracts.

Artificial Intelligence

FDA launches updated AI and consolidated data platform

The Food and Drug Administration’s flagship internal AI tool, Elsa, is being integrated with the data platform so that staff can accomplish work more easily.

Artificial Intelligence

Commerce AI center will evaluate Google Deepmind, Microsoft and xAI models

A renegotiated deal between the three companies and the Center for Artificial Intelligence Standards and Innovation allows private sector models to undergo safety testing in classified environments.

Exclusive Artificial Intelligence

Trump admin floats policy language limiting contractor say on agency uses of technology

Ongoing drafts of policy documents feature language that would limit the private sector’s ability to dictate how their artificial intelligence models are used in government missions, according to sources familiar with their development.

Policy

Tech bills of the week: Codifying NAIRR; Protecting government employees’ data; and more 

The tech bills introduced during the last week of April covered issues like codifying the Creating Resources for Every American to Experiment with Artificial Intelligence Act, requiring reporting for AI use in FISA operations and improving AI literacy at the K-12 level.

Artificial Intelligence

Pentagon makes agreements with 8 companies to add AI to classified networks

Advanced AI capabilities from NVIDIA, OpenAI, SpaceX, Reflection, AWS, Microsoft, Oracle and Google will be made available at Impact Level 6 and 7.

Artificial Intelligence

OpenAI makes frontier model available to critical cyber defenders

The announcement of GPT-5.5-Cyber follows Anthropic’s debut of its own Mythos AI, which the company said has already uncovered thousands of cyber vulnerabilities.

Artificial Intelligence

White House is drafting plans to permit federal Anthropic use

The move suggests the Trump administration is easing its stance on the AI company, which faced a Pentagon supply chain risk designation and phaseout directive.

Artificial Intelligence

OpenAI announces availability across cloud providers

The artificial intelligence developer updated its terms and conditions with Microsoft, announcing that its suite of agentic capabilities would now be available via other cloud providers.

Artificial Intelligence

Lieu and Obernolte introduce consolidated AI bill package

The American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Act takes provisions from previous bills and the 2024 Bipartisan AI Task Force report to move forward AI policies with support from both sides of the aisle.

Policy

Tech bills of the week: Creating data privacy standards; Securing critical infrastructure from drones; and more

Congressional lawmakers introduced a raft of proposals this week, including bills to balance the power needs of data centers with consumer energy costs and to establish guidelines on the types of advanced semiconductors that can be sold to China.

Emerging Tech

House lawmakers introduce quantum initiative reauthorization

The House version of the NQIA Reauthorization runs in parallel with the Senate version, with industry reacting well to its application-focused language.

Artificial Intelligence

Microsoft to test third-party AI models for incorporation in its security offerings

The announcement follows Anthropic’s debut of its leading-edge Mythos model, which the company says has already found thousands of high-severity vulnerabilities.

Policy

Tech bills of the week: Improving maternal health; Expanding access for disabled Americans; and more

Lawmakers rolled out legislative proposals to enhance the IRS’ use of technology, require regulatory agencies overseeing financial systems to conduct technology assessments and codify a biometric-based program to identify dangerous individuals before they reach U.S. ports of entry.

Artificial Intelligence

OMB’s examination of Mythos is ‘not giving access to anything to agencies,’ official says

Following the debut of Anthropic’s ultra-powerful AI, Mythos, the federal CIO told stakeholders the administration is meeting with industry and intelligence partners to discuss guardrails and safeguards associated with “potentially releasing a modified version of the model.”

Artificial Intelligence

Agencies report over 3,000 AI use cases in 2025

The number of reported use cases more than doubled from 2024, revealing the federal government’s continued appetite to acquire advanced artificial intelligence for its workflows.

Emerging Tech

Senate committee approves quantum reauthorization bill with 7 amendments 

A markup in the Senate Commerce Committee outfitted the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act to support near-term quantum application development, cybersecurity migration timelines and scaling testbeds for quantum sciences and technologies.