Coalition of Utilities Seeks Pole Attachment Order Reconsideration

The FCC issued a public notice last week announcing the Coalition of Concerned Utilities filed a petition for reconsideration of the December 2023 fourth report and order on pole attachments. Petitioners requested the FCC eliminate the requirement that utilities submit a copy of periodic pole inspection reports to attaching entities. Oppositions to the petition will be due within 15 days of the date of publication of this public notice in the Federal Register. Replies will be due 10 days after the time for filing oppositions has expired.

NTIA Solicits Comments on Open-Weight AI Models

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) launched a Request for Comment on the risks, benefits and potential policy related to advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models with widely available model weights – the core component of AI systems.

These “open-weight” models allow developers to build upon and adapt previous work, broadening AI tools’ availability to small companies, researchers, nonprofits, and individuals. This may accelerate the diffusion of AI’s benefits and the pace of AI safety research, but it may also increase the scale and likelihood of harms from advanced models.

President Biden’s Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence directs NTIA to review the risks and benefits of large AI models with widely available weights and develop policy recommendations to maximize those benefits while mitigating the risks.

The request for comment seeks input on a number of issues, including:

• The varying levels of openness of AI models;
• The benefits and risks of making model weights widely available compared to the benefits and risks associated with closed models;
• Innovation, competition, safety, security, trustworthiness, equity, and national security concerns with making AI model weights more or less open; and
• The role of the U.S. government in guiding, supporting, or restricting the availability of AI model weights.

Comments are due within 30 days of publication of the request for comment in the Federal Register. The responses will help inform a report to the President with NTIA’s findings and policy recommendations.

FCC Relaunches Consumer Advisory Committee with Focus on AI

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the FCC will relaunch the Consumer Advisory Committee to focus on consumer issues, including AI. The advisory committee is an official entity through which committee members can provide formal advice and recommendations to the FCC on consumer issues. The CAC will focus on the implication of emerging artificial intelligence technologies on consumer privacy and protection, including how AI can help protect vulnerable consumer populations from unwanted and illegal calls, along with other consumer protection issues. 

The CAC is a federal advisory committee made up of members appointed by the Chairwoman who, together as a body, make recommendations to the FCC on issues related to the needs and interest of consumers within the jurisdiction of the Commission and to facilitate the participation of all consumers in proceedings before the FCC. CAC-12 will welcome 28 new and returning members, including INCOMPAS Attorney and Policy Manager Lindsay Stern, from a diverse mix of non-profit organizations representing consumers, communications companies and trade associations, and individuals serving on their own behalf and functioning as special government employees.  

The first CAC meeting will be held on April 4, 2024. CAC meetings are open to the public and are broadcast live with open captioning over the internet from the FCC Live web page.

House Launches Bipartisan Task Force on AI

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) established a bipartisan Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to explore how Congress can ensure America continues to lead the world in AI innovation while considering guardrails that may be appropriate to safeguard the nation against current and emerging threats.

Speaker Johnson and Leader Jeffries have each appointed 12 members to the Task Force that represent key committees of jurisdiction and will be jointly led by Chair Jay Obernolte (R-CA) and Co-Chair Ted Lieu (D-CA). The Task Force will seek to produce a comprehensive report that will include guiding principles, forward-looking recommendations and bipartisan policy proposals developed in consultation with committees of jurisdiction.