In March 2021, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, along with Comcast, co-hosted a Digital Convening that brought together eighteen AANHPI serving organizations to discuss what the digital divide looks like in their respective communities. They discussed how the digital divide includes insufficient broadband access, a lack of equipment, and a need for greater education. The community partners also shared their expertise on the ability of their communities to access digital services before, during, and after the pandemic. Recurring themes during the conversation included accessibility, education, workforce development, and safety. Learnings from the Convening indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the digital divide. More than ever, AANHPI individuals need broadband access to stay connected to communities, access healthcare and educational opportunities, and participate in government programs that are designed to bring them relief.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) launched a request for comment on how U.S. government policies can support the development of next-generation 6G technology. Secure and reliable communications services are vital to U.S. economic competitiveness and national security. The wireless industry is beginning to plan for the development of 6G, and the U.S. has already joined like-minded partners in establishing joint principles to shape the future of this technology. NTIA’s new Request for Comment (RFC) seeks input to inform future U.S. government engagement in support of 6G development and deployment. The RFC asks questions about how to enable 6G success, research and development, and 6G safety, security and environmental concerns. Questions include:

• How can the U.S. Government ensure that the benefits of 6G technology extend to all segments of society?  
• When is 6G technology expected to begin lab and field trials and then become commercially available? What developments in 6G technology could accelerate replacement of obsolete technologies?  
• How could 6G improve network resiliency during disaster and recovery operations, such as in hurricane response and other natural and man-made disasters that impact network performance?

NTIA’s Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS), in collaboration with the Department of Defense’s FutureG Office, recently hosted the RIC (RAN Intelligent Controller) Forum in Dallas, Texas. The demonstrations and high engagement from attendees underscored why the RIC Forum is drawing such a high level of international attention and interest. Thanks to advances in the RAN Intelligent Controller, or RIC, Open RAN has the potential to spur energy efficiency, automation, spectrum management, and more. Outcomes of the RIC Forum include:

• Understanding the current and future market for Open RAN technologies;
• Demonstrating xApps and rApps for priority use cases such as energy saving, security, traffic steering, and spectrum management;
• Showcasing the actual state of the international Open RAN market;
• Sharing information among RIC developers around novel tools, strategies, and solutions; and
• Engaging global partners and readying them for investment and large-scale deployment of this technology.  

The United States Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute (AISI) released its organizational vision, mission, and goals. AISI envisions a future where safe AI innovation enables a thriving world. AISI operates with two key principles in mind: beneficial AI depends on AI safety, and AI safety depends on science. AISI's strategic goals are:

1. Making the vision possible: advancing AI safety science through research, including testing, evaluation, validation, and verification of increasingly capable AI models, systems, and agents.
2. Making the vision actionable: developing and disseminating AI safety practices.
3. Making the vision sustainable: supporting institutions, communities, and coordination around AI safety

National narratives about youth well-being have increasingly focused on how to address the youth mental health crisis. While a multitude of complex factors are contributing to the growth of mental health challenges among young people, social media has often landed in the center of the conversation. To better understand youth mental health and its relationship to social media use, researchers have shown that it is critically important to listen to and honor the experiences of youth themselves. In pursuit of a richer understanding of their experiences with social media and their mental health, this study—the third in a series—has engaged with and centered young people in the design, execution, and interpretation of the research findings. The seven key findings are:

1. Depressive symptoms among young people are down from pandemic highs, but comparable to already-elevated 2018 levels.
2. Young people experience both costs and benefits from their use of social media, and many implement strategies to manage the negative aspects.
3. Most young people encounter negative attacks on identity and body-shaming comments on social media, as well as identityaffirming and body-positive comments.
4. Black young people value connecting with others about mental health, exploring professional and educational opportunities, and expressing their creativity on social media more than White youth. Black and Latino young people are also more likely to face negative experiences online that lead them to take breaks from a social media account.
5. Social media is a double-edged sword for LGBTQ+ youth, offering both important opportunities for support and identity affirmation, and greater exposure to harassment and stress.
6. Young adults see more downsides to social media than teens do, and they also do more to manage their engagement and exposure.
7. Youth with depressive symptoms are more vulnerable to social comparison and pressure to show their best selves on social media. However, they are also more likely to find resources to support their wellbeing and to curate their feeds in response to content they don't want to see.

“The main long-term competitor for us is fiber,” says Comcast Cable CEO Dave Watson. Comcast is in the process of rolling out mid-split upgrades and preparing for the launch of DOCSIS 4.0. Comcast doubled mid-splits year over year and now reaches 40% of its footprint. Watson said the company has previously been asked if it’s holding back on network investments to manage capital intensity. He said, “We’re not holding back one bit. We’re in position with where we’re building, where we're doing upgrades and where we’re ushering in multi-gig symmetrical. We’ve gone up against fiber for a very long period of time, and I think we have a good road map for how to compete.” In addition, the company is growing passings. Recently, Comcast touted a rural broadband project in Stafford County, Virginia, highlighting that this is a public-private project between Comcast and the county. The cable company says it is involved in public-private partnerships across its national footprint.