Senator Markey Soft Threatens Google Over Schools, Sen Warren Threatens Businesses

Democrats sure like to threaten private companies, eh? Maybe some of them need it, but, it’s problematic when an elected federal official, ie, a public servant, does it

Senator Tells Google to Let Schools Disable A.I. Features in Search

Senator Edward J. Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, sent a letter to Google on Monday telling the tech giant to allow schools to disable the artificial intelligence features within its search engine.

The letter cited a New York Times article last week reporting that Google planned to turn off student access to certain A.I.-related services — including its Gemini A.I. tool and search — giving schools the option of turning any back on.

But schools will not have the ability to turn off A.I. features in search if they want to keep using it to run queries, Google said. That’s because tools like A.I. Overview and A.I. Mode are too “deeply integrated” into search, the company said. A.I. Mode is a chatbot-like feature while A.I. Overview generates search summaries. There will also be a new student A.I. chat feature, Guided Learning, meant to assist with schoolwork while tamping down on A.I. cheating.

The tech industry is facing heightened public concern that chatbots can hinder students’ learning and pose risks to children’s mental health. And Google’s announcement last week set off criticism from some politicians and nonprofit groups that the tech giant’s insistence on keeping A.I. features in search was undermining schools’ abilities to make learning and safety decisions for their students.

Interesting. They’re worried about AI, but, not all the other things Democrats support, such as enticing children to declare themselves trans and wanting drugs and surgeries. Or growing up too fast and sexualizing themselves. Or legalizing drugs, for which children will have a lot easier access to them then when they were illegal (yeah, we could get marijuana back in the day, but, we actually didn’t start till 10th grade).

Elizabeth Warren gears up to take on Wall Street, Big Tech in new role

Brace yourself for the most progressive — and aggressive — Senate Banking Committee chair in decades.

Elizabeth Warren, the longtime Wall Street antagonist poised to take over the Banking panel next year, is preparing a sweeping policy and oversight agenda that will put her in a key position to influence the Democratic Party’s debate over economic populism ahead of 2028.

According to an initial rundown of her plans provided to POLITICO by a Warren Banking aide, the Massachusetts Democrat is preparing to use her new perch to confront corporate America on multiple fronts, from investigations to legislation aimed at curbing corporate power. As Banking chair, Warren will be in charge of a wide-ranging policy portfolio that includes banking, housing, cryptocurrency, the Federal Reserve and more.

Chief want big wampum from those companies, eh? But, really, does she have any evidence that any of these companies are doing wrong, or is this a fishing expedition because Democrats hate big companies? Despite getting vast amounts of campaign (and other types) money from those same companies. I bet a lot of them she’s targeting have played nice with Trump.