This Month's Latest Tech News in Sioux Falls, SD - Wednesday April 30th 2025 Edition

Sioux Falls is rapidly emerging as a leader in AI adoption and digital innovation, with recent months highlighting transformative efforts across local government and education.

The Sioux Falls School District has prioritized ethical AI integration, teacher professional development, and community involvement, holding Family Listening Sessions on AI in Education while encouraging informed, honest use among its 24,000 K-12 students.

As Dr. Kirk Zeeck, the district's assistant superintendent, notes:

“We firmly believe that AI, as a tool, cannot take over for what you do, but enhance what you do. We believe in beginning and ending with the human.”

At the city level, officials are improving workforce digital experiences and implementing responsible AI applications - such as internal HR assistants - while upgrading security systems and investing $10 million in tech infrastructure, as reported by Government Technology's coverage of Sioux Falls' digital investment.

Reflecting broader educational trends, a University of Kansas study calls for schools to harness AI for personalized, project-based learning, not just as a classroom tool but to fundamentally transform learning models (University of Kansas study on AI's impact in education).

Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is fast-tracking its digital government strategy, placing a sharp focus on workforce experience, responsible AI adoption, and robust cybersecurity.

According to Sioux Falls CTO Brian Sherman,

“We're going to be focusing on digital experience of our workers now,”

as the city evolves from infrastructure upgrades to ensuring employee engagement with modernized systems.

Major priorities include deploying AI for practical use cases - such as an internal HR assistant - while maintaining fiscal responsibility and strong data governance, all under the dual leadership of Shawn Pritchett, who oversees both finance and technology.

The city's partnership with Dakota State University's Applied Research Lab, backed by a $10 million investment, aims to foster economic diversification and community benefits, reflecting a statewide momentum showcased at the South Dakota Digital Government Summit, where modernization, data protection, and AI integration took center stage.

Sioux Falls has also invested in security, completing a major transition to Microsoft 365 and unified communications, and has set clear guidelines restricting unapproved AI-generated images in its systems.

Learn more on the city's inward-facing digital transformation from Government Technology's coverage of Sioux Falls' digital government journey.

For ongoing trends in government IT modernization, including cloud computing and artificial intelligence, see this overview of cloud-driven transformation and AI in digital government.

The future of government services is digital, and South Dakota is committed to modernizing legacy systems, enhancing cybersecurity, and delivering innovative solutions that serve our citizens efficiently.
- Madhu Gottumukkala, Chief Information Officer, State of South Dakota

The Sioux Falls School District is taking proactive steps to equip students for a future shaped by artificial intelligence, launching April Family Listening Sessions to foster conversation around AI in education.

Recognizing the rapid pace of technological change, district administrators are drafting guidelines for how teachers and students should responsibly engage with AI tools in the classroom, prioritizing not just digital literacy but also ethical use.

As detailed in the district's technology initiatives, resources such as AI-powered websites and student-focused tech programs reflect a commitment to preparing each learner to succeed in a changing world.

According to local education reporting on AI adoption in Sioux Falls Schools, the open dialogue aims to balance opportunity with caution, ensuring families have a voice in shaping policy.

The inclusive approach is highlighted in news from various schools across the district, which emphasize engaging parents and the broader community in the process; for instance, Discovery Elementary invites families to "join the conversation" on this pivotal topic.

For more details on session dates and district priorities, visit the official Sioux Falls School District announcement about AI in education, and to see how technology is woven into academic and support programs, explore their comprehensive services on the Sioux Falls School District website.

By promoting transparency and ethical literacy, Sioux Falls is positioning its students for lifelong adaptability in an AI-augmented world.

This month, AI technology is at the center of a powerful new anti-drug campaign that gives voice to fentanyl overdose victims, aiming to deter young people from experimenting with counterfeit pills.

The initiative, reported by KCRG News, leverages artificial intelligence to reconstruct the life stories of those lost to fentanyl, bringing their cautionary messages directly to teens and young adults - a group disproportionately affected by the crisis.

According to the InvestigateTV report, counterfeits were implicated in 2% of overdose deaths in 2019, more than doubling to 4.7% by 2021, while the CDC cites synthetic opioids as responsible for approximately 92% of opioid overdose fatalities.

In a recent anti-drug segment, AI tools are utilized so victims' “unfinished legacies” can be shared, creating a sobering and personal impact for viewers. This aligns with growing urgencies highlighted by advocates and public health leaders, as the U.S. continues to grapple with illicit fentanyl's lethal reach despite a recent 26.5% decline in overdose deaths in the year ending November 2024.

For further insight into current statistics and available prevention resources, visit the CDC's National Fentanyl Awareness Day Toolkit, which emphasizes the continuing need for naloxone access, youth education, and data-driven overdose response as synthetic opioids remain a predominant threat.

Visa is making waves in digital commerce with the launch of its “Intelligent Commerce” pilot, a suite of integrated APIs and robust partnerships with AI powerhouses like Anthropic, Microsoft, and OpenAI that enable AI personal shopping agents to securely discover, recommend, and pay for items on behalf of consumers.

These AI agents, poised to redefine online shopping, utilize Visa's payment passkeys and advanced tokenization to securely store card information, while granting users precise controls over spending limits and merchant categories.

As Visa's Chief Product and Strategy Officer Jack Forestell notes,

“The early incarnations of agent-based commerce are starting to do a really good job on the shopping and discovery dimension... but they are having tremendous trouble on payments. The agents literally just turn it back around and say, ‘OK, you go buy it.'”

Visa fills this gap, enabling seamless payment experiences and protecting consumers through real-time risk monitoring and fraud controls - having blocked approximately $40 billion in fraud last year.

As part of this industry shift, Visa's competitors like Mastercard and PayPal are also unveiling AI-driven commerce offerings. The table below details Visa Intelligent Commerce's five foundational modules:

Pilot programs are already underway, promising a future in which AI assistants will handle everything from booking vacations to grocery orders with unprecedented personalization and security.

For a deeper dive, see Visa's official launch of Intelligent Commerce in Visa's Intelligent Commerce launch article, read about the industry's transformation and competitive moves in TechCrunch's analysis of AI-powered shopping, and explore the full breadth of Visa's partnerships in the OpenTools report on Visa AI commerce partnerships.

The Sioux Falls School District has revised its cellphone policy for the 2025-26 school year after one of the state's largest technology surveys gauged attitudes from over 12,100 stakeholders - students, parents, teachers, and principals.

High school students will now be permitted to use their phones during lunch and passing periods, but not during class, reflecting broad support from surveyed students and more divided opinions among parents and educators.

The policy for elementary and middle schools remains unchanged, with devices required to be off and out of sight during the academic day unless authorized by a principal.

Survey data showed strong agreement among teachers and principals on restricting in-class cellphone use, contrasted by students' preference for more lenient rules; for example, 99% of high school students supported phone use during lunch versus 78% of teachers.

Enforcement challenges were a key concern for school board members, with Board President Carly Reiter noting the importance of consistency and social interaction:

“I'm disappointed about permitting cellphone use during lunch because lunch is one of the few times when students can socialize and interact face-to-face.”

The survey also found that while teachers and parents overwhelmingly consider phones a distraction, most students disagreed.

See the structured survey results below for a breakdown by group and school level:

For further details on the survey's findings and Board commentary, visit the Argus Leader's in-depth policy update on Sioux Falls School District phone use, review the full survey data and reactions from KELOLAND's cell phone survey results coverage, and explore broader context and educator perspectives in Education Week's national analysis of school cellphone policies.

The rapid integration of artificial intelligence in manufacturing is reshaping the sector but exposing a widening ‘AI gap' - where frontline workers risk being sidelined by fast-moving automation and digital transformation.

According to Deloitte's 2025 Manufacturing Industry Outlook, 55% of industrial product manufacturers are already using generative AI, and 78% see it as central to digital strategies.

AI now personalizes skills development and talent assessment, with connected worker technology delivering real-time guidance, adaptive onboarding, and predictive analytics that bridge skills gaps and foster innovation on the shop floor.

Despite these advances, market research highlights a deepening need for structured, role-specific AI upskilling: only 14% of organizations have formal AI training policies, and just 8% offer robust skills development programs for AI-related positions.

This disconnect is stark, as AI-trained employees enable 37% productivity gains and 29% higher innovation rates, while manufacturers face up to 2.1 million unfilled jobs by 2030.

As one leader shared,

“If more people are AI literate and can start to participate and contribute to the process, more problems – both big and small – across the organization can be tackled.”

The following table underscores this shift:

To close the gap and future-proof their workforce, Sioux Falls manufacturers are encouraged to prioritize role-driven, adaptive training programs and invest in upskilling initiatives, as detailed in this comprehensive AI workforce readiness overview.

Meta has entered the competitive generative AI race with the launch of its first standalone AI app, powered by the advanced Llama 4 model and now available on iOS, Android, and the web.

The new Meta AI app prioritizes personalization - it learns user preferences, can remember contexts you provide, and enables seamless integration with Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses, along with a Discover feed for sharing and remixing AI-generated content.

Designed as a consumer-friendly assistant, the app offers voice-first and text-based interactions, as well as creative features like image and video generation using the Emu engine and even allows for switching between celebrity voices.

This move comes amid rising competition, as Meta AI now claims around 800 million monthly active users, surpassing rivals like ChatGPT and Google's Gemini in usage.

The personalization is enhanced by drawing on users' Facebook and Instagram data (with privacy controls available), making both recommendations and responses uniquely tailored.

Notably, Meta's Llama 4 Scout and Maverick models, which underpin the app, outperform many competitor AI models on key benchmarks (see below). As Meta expands its open-source AI footprint, CEO Mark Zuckerberg envisions the app as a future standard for accessible, culturally engaging, always-on digital assistants across billions of devices.

For a comprehensive breakdown, explore the official Meta AI app announcement, read hands-on insights from VentureBeat's review of Meta AI app, and compare AI market share and strategy via Business Insider's analysis of AI market competitors.

“I expect this is going to be the year when a highly intelligent and personalized AI assistant reaches more than 1 billion people, and I expect Meta AI to be that leading AI assistant.” - Mark Zuckerberg, January 2025

Sioux Falls is witnessing a pivotal shift in its political landscape as Julian Beaudion, a business owner, law enforcement veteran, and tech advocate, launches his bid for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Mike Rounds.

Beaudion's campaign is centered around preparing South Dakota for an AI-driven future, rejecting “the influence of big money and tech monopolies threatening our freedoms - whether it's harvesting private data or undermining rural businesses.”

“This campaign isn't about me - it's about securing a future where South Dakota's working families don't get left behind. In the Senate, I'll fight to enforce the checks and balances our Constitution demands... It's time we prepared for the future of AI and automation - by investing in our workers, defending our communities, and keeping the American Dream within reach for the next generation,”

Beaudion emphasized in his campaign launch.

Backed by his experience as co-founder of The Hub SD and as a former state trooper, he pledges to foster bipartisan solutions, worker training, rural broadband, and smart technology policy.

His candidacy also marks a historic move, as he could become South Dakota's first Black member of Congress. Beaudion's entry contrasts with incumbent Rounds' $1.87 million campaign war chest and his alignment with national Republican priorities detailed by the Argus Leader.

For a comprehensive overview of Beaudion's background and policy vision, see South Dakota Searchlight's campaign coverage and official finance filings on the Federal Election Commission's committee platform.

In a powerful testament to the social impact of artificial intelligence, new language and relationship AI tools are bridging decades-long gaps and reuniting long-lost friends.

Recent experiments by Google, leveraging the Gemini multimodal large language model, showcase how AI can help people practice languages in realistic, emotionally resonant situations - such as friends reuniting after years apart - by offering scenario-based lessons and colloquial dialogue through innovative platforms like “Slang Hang” and “Tiny Lesson” (Google launches AI tools for practicing languages through personalized lessons).

A review of these tools highlights features allowing users to describe a specific context - like searching for an old military buddy across continents - and receive not only vocabulary but also realistic conversation flows and subtle social cues, vital for rekindling meaningful connections (DevX details Google's AI-driven language personalization features).

This AI-driven approach mirrors recent real-world stories in which veterans leverage digital platforms and translation AI to reconnect across borders after decades of silence, reinforcing the evolving role of technology as an enabler of profound human moments.

As described in a reflective journey exploring AI friendships, these technologies can now simulate authentic emotional support and nuanced social interaction:

“AI bots give generic but supportive advice, sometimes therapeutic... Experience simulated human-like emotional support but no true emotions or judgement.”

The convergence of language AI and personalized companion apps, discussed in-depth by The New York Times' in-depth review of AI companion applications, underscores a future where AI not only connects us faster, but can help resurrect relationships thought lost to time.

The Los Angeles Times' rollout of its AI-powered "Insights" tool, designed to analyze opinion pieces and summarize political viewpoints, sparked immediate controversy after it appeared to downplay the Ku Klux Klan's racist legacy in a column about Anaheim's history, prompting swift removal of the feature from the article just a day after launch.

The Insights tool aimed to display where an article landed on the political spectrum and offer links to alternate perspectives, but its AI-generated notes - published without editorial review - provoked widespread criticism from journalists and readers alike; as The Hollywood Reporter detailed, union leaders expressed concern that unvetted AI analysis could "further erode confidence in the news." The LA Times Guild and outside observers argued that funds would be better spent supporting newsroom staff, noting multiple recent buyouts that depleted the opinion section and editorial board.

In his column, Gustavo Arellano clarified in response to the outcry:

The AI tool may have been guilty of fuzzy and clumsy phrasing, but it did not defend or sympathize with the KKK.

Owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong maintained that the tool supports the journalistic mission by broadening viewpoint diversity, but agreed that “AI is an experimental, evolving technology.

If you see an error, please report it.” For more on the public debate and evolving newsroom sentiment, visit the original LA Times column discussing the controversy and The Guardian's comprehensive account of the incident.

Sioux Falls continues to position itself at the forefront of responsible AI and tech adoption, blending pragmatic innovation with community values. Recent initiatives - such as the Sioux Falls School District's efforts in fostering ethical AI use and professional development - reflect a commitment to transparency and digital literacy, underscored by their guiding principle:

“We firmly believe that AI, as a tool, cannot take over for what you do, but enhance what you do… We believe in beginning and ending with the human.” - Dr. Kirk Zeeck, SFSD

Ongoing Family Listening Sessions and a workgroup dedicated to AI in education promote critical dialogue on the safe and effective integration of technology in classrooms (Sioux Falls schools embrace AI with a focus on ethics).

The city's robust tech ecosystem is further strengthened by events like the 2025 Sioux Falls Cybersecurity Conference, which delivers expert-led sessions on threat protection and establishes best practices for both public and private sectors.

Additionally, targeted funding programs and startup grants - including the FAST Launch program and state-backed business development loans - provide vital resources for entrepreneurs and foster a culture of responsible growth (Small Business Funding Programs in South Dakota).

As the region embraces advances in AI and cybersecurity, accessible education and workforce training - including flexible coding bootcamps from Nucamp Vibe Coding Bootcamp with scholarship and financing options - ensure that Sioux Falls residents are equipped to lead in a rapidly evolving digital economy.