Associated Press: Callers to Washington state hotline press 2 for Spanish and get accented AI English instead. “For months, callers to the Washington state Department of Licensing who have requested automated service in Spanish have instead heard an AI voice speaking English in a strong Spanish accent. The agency has since apologized and says it fixed the problem.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/03/01/associated-press-callers-to-washington-state-hotline-press-2-for-spanish-and-get-accented-ai-english-instead/

Community Networks: With ACP Gone, New Mexico Creates First State-Level Internet Affordability Program. “New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law today new legislation that aims to provide tens of thousands of low-income households in ‘The Land of Enchantment’ an Internet lifeline similar to the now-expired federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).”

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/02/23/community-networks-with-acp-gone-new-mexico-creates-first-state-level-internet-affordability-program/

Mission Local: The six-month S.F. photography class that’s still going, 35 years later. “The workshop at 105 Seventh St. has quietly taught photography to low-income residents, veterans, and housing-insecure San Franciscans since 1991, when it was sponsored by Tenants and Owners Development Corporation (TODCO) to give residents of South of Market single-room occupancy hotels a creative outlet […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/02/21/mission-local-the-six-month-s-f-photography-class-thats-still-going-35-years-later/

Associated Press: State Department orders nonprofit libraries to stop processing passport applications. “The U.S. State Department has ordered certain public libraries nationwide to cease processing passport applications, disrupting a long-standing service that librarians say their communities have come to rely on and that has run smoothly for years.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/02/17/associated-press-state-department-orders-nonprofit-libraries-to-stop-processing-passport-applications/

ComputerWeekly: Large language models provide unreliable answers about public services, Open Data Institute finds. “Popular large language models (LLMs) are unable to provide reliable information about key public services such as health, taxes and benefits, the Open Data Institute (ODI) has found.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/02/15/computerweekly-large-language-models-provide-unreliable-answers-about-public-services-open-data-institute-finds/

The Register: UK names Barnsley as first Tech Town to see whether AI can fix… well, anything. “Barnsley, a town in South Yorkshire, England, best known for coal mining and glassmaking, is being thrust into the limelight as the country’s first ‘Tech Town’ – shoehorning AI into everything from local businesses to public services.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/02/07/the-register-uk-names-barnsley-as-first-tech-town-to-see-whether-ai-can-fix-well-anything/

Peel Region shortchanged when it comes to funding for community services, report says
Peel Region is critically underfunded when it comes to community services and receives "far less" provincial money per capita compared to other urban areas, a new report says.
#funding #communityservices #PeelRegion
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/metamorphosis-network-report-peel-region-9.7057384?cmp=rss

BREAKDOWN OF WATERLOO REGION’S 2026 BUDGET

This infographic was originally published in the January 2026 issue of The Community Edition.

#2026 #2026PreliminaryProgramBudget #budget #communityServices #developmentAndLegislativeServices #Ontario #Planning #publicHealthAndParamedicServices #taxes #Transportation #waterAndWastewaterServices #waterloo #waterlooRegion #WaterlooRegionPoliceServices #WRPS

NBC News: Alaska’s court system built an AI chatbot. It didn’t go smoothly.. “For more than a year, Alaska’s court system has been designing a pioneering generative AI chatbot termed the Alaska Virtual Assistant (AVA) to help residents navigate the tangled web of forms and procedures involved in probate, the judicial process of transferring property away from a deceased person. Yet what was […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/01/11/nbc-news-alaskas-court-system-built-an-ai-chatbot-it-didnt-go-smoothly/

The Register: GOV.UK to unleash AI chatbot on confused citizens. “The UK’s Government Digital Service (GDS) will add an AI chatbot to its GOV.UK app in early 2026, before rolling it out across the GOV.UK website used by most government departments and services.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/12/21/the-register-gov-uk-to-unleash-ai-chatbot-on-confused-citizens/