Local Florida

Florida's most intriguing AI story this week begins in Boca Raton, with ADT. On October 29, 2026, home-security giant ADT announced an agreement to be acquired by Thrive Holdings in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $15.3 billion, including debt. The deal brings together one of America's most recognizable home-security companies and an investment firm with a direct connection to OpenAI. But this is more than a major corporate acquisition. It could signal a new c

College football has never lacked people who know which play to call. Most reveal their genius after the whistle. Texas briefly gave those critics a new target. A report suggested its new AI platform, Bevo Lab, influenced a failed fourth-down decision against Florida. Athletic director Chris Del Conte clarified that he had offered the play as an example of what the system could suggest. It hadn’t made that call. The actual project deserves attention. As an example of AI in co

A screenshot can look like proof before anyone asks where it came from. According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, a 15-year-old former student sent school administrators an AI-altered image that made it appear her ex-boyfriend had threatened a school shooting. Deputies investigating the AI school shooting threat at Riverview High School determined that the post had not come from him. Investigators say the girl admitted sending the image while knowing it had been

A photograph can tell a story. AI can now invent the photograph. A recent Florida Today column raises a troubling question: are courts prepared for fabricated videos, recordings, and messages that look like genuine evidence? The concern surrounding AI evidence in Florida courts reaches beyond lawyers submitting invented legal citations. It involves material that could influence someone’s freedom, finances, or access to their children. Investigating suspected fakes can require

Florida State’s Google Days puts the focus on how students think. Florida State University will host Google specialists October 7–8 for two days of AI demonstrations and workshops. Students, faculty, and staff will explore tools for studying, teaching, research, and everyday work. One of the most interesting items on the agenda is a workshop on process-based assessments: evaluating how students develop their work alongside what they ultimately submit. Another explores using G

Artificial intelligence is already changing education. Now Florida is drawing a line around how far it should go. The Florida State Board of Education has adopted new rules governing AI in public school districts, charter schools and Florida College System institutions. The rules don’t broadly ban AI. They require schools to tell parents which approved AI instructional tools students will use, allow parents to opt their children in or choose a comparable non-AI alternative, a

Artificial intelligence may be global. But the rules are becoming local. This week, Florida moved deeper into a rapidly expanding political argument over who should control the development and deployment of AI. At the federal level, policymakers are debating whether the country needs stronger national safeguards or whether too much regulation could weaken America’s position in the global AI race. Florida is confronting the same tension from the state level. Governor Ron DeSan

Florida is considering a new requirement for its 28-institution Florida College System: every college would need a policy governing the use and limitations of artificial intelligence. That sounds bureaucratic. It isn’t. It is another sign that education is crossing a line. For the first few years of generative AI, schools largely asked how to stop students from using it. Now Florida is moving toward a different question: how should students use it responsibly? That is a very

FLORIDA IS MOVING TO REGULATE AI FROM FINGER PAINTING TO DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS. Florida AI education rules are being developed across several parts of the state’s public education system, from prekindergarten and K–12 schools to the Florida College System and state universities. These are separate proposals moving through different governing bodies rather than one unified statewide rule, but together they point toward a much broader framework for how artificial intelligence

The artificial intelligence industry has found a new frontier. Not robotics. Not medicine. Not space. Tallahassee. Two political networks backed by rival camps in the AI industry have each spent more than $2 million supporting Byron Donalds, who won Florida’s Republican gubernatorial primary on August 18 and will face Democrat David Jolly in November. The strange part is that the groups are fighting for very different versions of AI policy. Leading the Future is backed by tec

After a hurricane, every hour matters. Roads flood, traffic signals fail and fallen trees turn familiar neighborhoods into mazes. Until now, assessing that damage has required crews to drive hundreds of miles, take photographs, complete reports and eventually return to an office where internet service still works. The storm moves in hours. The paperwork prefers a more leisurely pace. Researchers at the University of South Florida are developing AI technology to accelerate tha

Florida is using one of the stranger conservation experiments you are likely to encounter: solar-powered robotic rabbits designed to lure invasive Burmese pythons out of hiding in the Everglades. The decoys mimic the heat, scent and movement of real prey, while AI-enabled cameras watch for approaching snakes and alert trained removal teams. It is an unusual combination of robotics, artificial intelligence and wildlife management aimed at solving one deceptively difficult prob

The University of Florida has ranked No. 1 for AI readiness in a new assessment of the nation’s 10 largest public universities by undergraduate enrollment, earning a 9.7 out of 10 from AIREDEX. Florida placed a second institution in the top 10, with the University of Central Florida finishing eighth. The assessment examined four areas: institutional commitment, curriculum integration, industry partnerships, and research depth and undergraduate access. UF separated itself by t

Florida education officials are preparing to require every public school district and charter school governing board to formally address artificial intelligence within their internet-safety policies—placing student privacy, responsible use and parental oversight at the center of the conversation. 📘 The Details 🔹 The Florida Department of Education is proposing a rule directing all district school boards and charter school governing boards to incorporate specific AI guidelin

🏫 Florida AI Literacy Becomes an Education and Workforce Priority As artificial intelligence expands across education and business, Florida AI advocates are warning that access alone will not create meaningful progress. Students and workers must learn how to use the technology responsibly, intelligently and with sound human judgment. Speaking at the Build American AI forum in Tampa, industry advocates argued that AI literacy should become a fundamental part of education—much

Florida is attracting a growing wave of proposed AI infrastructure projects, but the expansion is raising a critical question: Can the state embrace the AI revolution while protecting the natural resources and communities that make it unique? ✨ The Details Large AI data centers can require substantial amounts of electricity and water to power and cool the advanced chips behind today’s most capable AI systems. The exact impact depends on the size of each facility, its cooling

🏗️ Local Pushback Stops Development Officials in Nassau County, Florida have approved a temporary pause of up to one year on new data center development after strong community opposition to a proposed energy site that included potential hyperscale AI data center development. 🌎 A Massive Project The proposal involved a 1,600-acre site, with roughly 400 acres identified as a potential hyperscale data center capable of supporting next-generation artificial intelligence infrast

The Florida Bar is taking a major step into legal AI by becoming the first U.S. state bar association to offer eligible members complimentary access to a professional AI legal platform. Through a new partnership with Clio, eligible Florida Bar members will be able to register for four months of full, unlimited access to Clio Work, an AI-powered legal productivity platform designed for law-based research, analysis, drafting, strategy, and matter-specific legal work. 🔍 A First

Florida is moving artificial intelligence directly into the school safety conversation. 🔹 The Florida Department of Education is directing school districts to update their existing internet safety policies to include artificial intelligence. 🔹 The proposed changes would require districts to address how AI is used by students and schools as the technology becomes more common in classrooms. 🔹 A rule-development workshop was scheduled for June 22 as the state considers how sc

From law schools to courtrooms, legal AI in Florida is reshaping how the state prepares for the future of law. Florida is adapting to the AI era by embracing the opportunities of artificial intelligence while strengthening safeguards to ensure accuracy, ethics, and accountability throughout the legal system. 🔍 The Big Picture: Legal AI in Florida 🎓 Florida’s Future Lawyers Are Learning AI Florida law schools are increasingly introducing students to AI through coursework, st