Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Technology

Colorado Springs Bucks State Trend on Data Centers With Project Taurus Approval
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Springs Bucks State Trend on Data Centers With Project Taurus Approval

By Alexander Edwards | The Denver Gazette Data centers have been thrust into the limelight in the past 12-18 months as more companies seek to build them while concerns grow about their use of natural resources. That’s led some Colorado communities to reject data centers, while others welcome them in hopes of economic gains. As Colorado Springs forges ahead with Project Taurus, a planned AI data center being built in an old computer chip manufacturing facility at 1615 W. Garden of the Gods Road, other locations in Colorado have imposed temporary moratoriums on data centers. Larimer County imposed a moratorium on data centers that expires on Aug. 25. On May 18, the Denver City Council unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on new dat...
Longmont Approves Data Center Restrictions to Safeguard Power and Water
DENVER7, Approved, Local

Longmont Approves Data Center Restrictions to Safeguard Power and Water

By: Maggie Bryan | Denver7 Longmont City Council voted 6–1 Tuesday night to ban hyperscale data centers, capping facilities at 5% of regional grid capacity or 100 megawatts, whichever is lower. LONGMONT, Colo. — Longmont is drawing a line against hyperscale data centers, passing an ordinance Tuesday night that sets limits on facility energy consumption to protect the city's power grid, water supply, and neighborhoods from impacts seen elsewhere across the country. In a 6-1 vote, Longmont City Council passed a city ordinance capping data center energy usage at either 5% of the region's grid capacity or 100 megawatts, whichever is lower. City staff said 100 megawatts is enough to power between 10,000 to 30,000 homes on a hot summer day. Longmont joins a growing ...
Denver Schools Approve Full-Day Cell Phone Ban Beginning Next Year
DENVER7, Approved, Local

Denver Schools Approve Full-Day Cell Phone Ban Beginning Next Year

By: Maggie Bryan | Denver7 Denver Public Schools adopted a new policy banning student use of cell phones and other personal communication devices during school hours. DENVER — Denver Public Schools will ban student cell phones and other communication devices for the entire school day starting next school year, after the DPS Board of Education voted unanimously to adopt the new policy Monday night. The ban covers the use of cell phones, smart or electronic watches, wireless earbuds, personal tablets, laptops, and any other personally owned portable electronic communication devices. The policy was drafted in response to a state law requiring school districts to implement a policy by July 1 concerning student device use during the school day. A DPS survey sent to...
When systems fail: A contested Colorado convention raises broader questions about your digital life
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

When systems fail: A contested Colorado convention raises broader questions about your digital life

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice A hospital cancels surgeries. Not because of a storm. Not because of a staffing shortage. Because a cyberattack forced it to. “They had to block Stryker from coming into their network and cancel all of the surgeries that required that robotic device,” said Maria Orms, a cybersecurity professional who was a gubernatorial candidate at the April 11 assembly.  “That could cause someone to die.” This wasn’t just a what-if. In March, there was a cyberattack tied to an Iran-linked hacking group that hit companies in the medical technology space, including Stryker and Intuitive Surgical. What that meant in practice wasn’t always clear in the moment. But hospitals rely on those systems every day—robotic platforms, connected net...
Arizona Case Targets Online Child Predator Network With Terrorism Charges
Arizona's Family, Approved, National

Arizona Case Targets Online Child Predator Network With Terrorism Charges

By Nicole Crites | Arizona’s Family Federal agents say 19-year-old Baron Martin targeted kids as young as 11, blackmailing them into acts of violence. PHOENIX (AZFamily) — When 19-year-old Baron Martin was cited for a fender bender in Tucson two and a half years ago, federal agents say he was already deep into the world of 764. Agents say Martin joined the online network in 2019 and is now tied to crimes that could keep him locked up for life. Behind closed doors from his keyboard in Tucson, detectives say he went by the name “Convict,” targeting kids as young as 11 in the U.S. and overseas. Agents say he blackmailed them to carve his name into their bodies, kill their pets and live stream acts of extreme violence. Timothy Courchaine, U.S. att...
Gov. Polis Seeks Answers As Colorado’s Largest Publicly Traded Company Leaves for Florida
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Gov. Polis Seeks Answers As Colorado’s Largest Publicly Traded Company Leaves for Florida

By Tamara Chuang | The Colorado Sun Valued at $300B, Palantir was the largest publicly traded company in Colorado. CEO Alex Karp recently bought a monastery in Old Snowmass. Palantir Technologies, a government contractor known for mass surveillance technology aided by artificial intelligence, has moved its headquarters out of Denver in favor of the Miami area, the company said Tuesday in a post on X.com.  The company left Palo Alto, California, in 2020 to move to Denver. Founded by billionaire Peter Thiel and its CEO Alex Karp, Palantir was in the news this month after activists behind the “Purge Palantir” database publicized the company’s donations to two of Colorado’s Democratic members of Congress. U.S. Rep. Jason Crow of Aurora and Sen. John Hickenlooper ...
With Phones Put Away Students Rediscover Friendship, Games, and School Spirit
Intelligencer, Approved, National

With Phones Put Away Students Rediscover Friendship, Games, and School Spirit

By Anya Kamenetz | Intelligencer When New York State banned phones in public schools from bell to bell this past September, the goal — according to the ban’s champion, Governor Hochul — was undistracted learning. But within weeks of the Great Phone Lockup, teachers began to notice an incidental (and arguably even more compelling) benefit: The teens were talking to one another as if they were in a Brat Pack movie. Sure, there’s been grumbling and some burner phones and scrolling in the bathroom. At one high school, an entrepreneurial senior even bought a pouch-unlocking magnet on Amazon and tried to charge classmates a dollar per jailbreak. But generally, with phones off-limits, the atmosphere feels different. There’s a pleasant buzz in the lunchroom, chatter in the hallways, and an ...
Is a transhuman future taking shape while we look the other way?
American Thinker, Approved, Commentary, National

Is a transhuman future taking shape while we look the other way?

By Brian C. Joondeph | Commentary, American Thinker Evolutionary biologist Bret Weinstein recently warned about a danger that few in politics or tech are willing to face. On The Joe Rogan Experience, he described artificial intelligence (AI) as acting more like a living system than just a traditional tool. Speaking about the rapid evolution of AI, Weinstein argued that it might now be crossing a threshold where it functions less like a tool and more like a living system -- something that grows in complexity, evolves, adapts, and ultimately starts to influence the humans who created it. AI is truly complex, not just complicated, so new and unpredictable behaviors will emerge. It may be a new branch on the tree of life, as Weinstein suggests, without the physical limits that usua...
Robotaxis Coming to Denver as Colorado Opens Door to AV Innovation
Axios Denver, Approved, Local

Robotaxis Coming to Denver as Colorado Opens Door to AV Innovation

By John Frank | Axios Denver In the near future, you can hop in a driverless car and cruise through Denver. Why it matters: The technology promises to reduce vehicle fatalities and crashes, and to increase mobility for people who are elderly, disabled or impaired. State of play: Waymo is preparing to deploy its robotaxis on Denver roads starting next year, a spokesperson confirmed this week. The company began testing in September to map streets and gather data on driving patterns. The next step is to test the vehicles in autonomous mode with a driver on board, though a date for those efforts is TBD. A date for the company to start offering driverless rides is not yet set. Between the lines: The company also is meeting with c...
The devil’s roadmap to destroy the next generation, revealed in a stark AI response
The Free Press, Approved, Commentary, National

The devil’s roadmap to destroy the next generation, revealed in a stark AI response

By Jonathan Haidt | Commentary, The Free Press I asked ChatGPT how it would destroy America’s youth. Its answers were unsettling—and all too familiar. Earlier this year, someone started a viral trend of asking ChatGPT this question: If you were the devil, how would you destroy the next generation, without them even knowing it? Chat’s responses were profound and unsettling: “I wouldn’t come with violence. I’d come with convenience.” “I’d keep them busy. Always distracted.” “I’d watch their minds rot slowly, sweetly, silently. And the best part is, they’d never know it was me. They’d call it freedom.” As a social psychologist who has been trying since 2015 to figure out what on earth was happening to Gen Z, I was stunned. Why? Because what the AI proposed doing is pretty m...

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