This Month's Latest Tech News in Tacoma, WA - Wednesday April 30th 2025 Edition

April 2025 proved pivotal for Tacoma's fast-evolving tech landscape as artificial intelligence, policy, and local innovation converged on a highly visible stage.

A major story this month was the failure of Washington's closely watched HB 1622, a proposed law that would have required cities to negotiate with unions before adopting new AI technologies - a move many city leaders argued could undermine management rights and slow public sector innovation.

With the bill now stalled for the 2025 session, city officials and advocates emphasized the need to balance workforce engagement with operational agility, urging proactive dialogue ahead of a likely 2026 reintroduction (AI bargaining bill fails to advance).

Tacoma's tech momentum was also reflected in the growing number of regionally funded sustainability startups and e-bike programs, advancing equity and green transportation (community reinvestment and local innovation; new e-bike rebate launches).

This convergence highlights Tacoma's dual focus: leveraging new technology while shaping thoughtful policy frameworks to ensure innovation drives shared economic and societal benefits.

Microsoft has taken a major step to strengthen Washington's AI-for-good ecosystem, marking its 50th anniversary with the announcement of a $5 million investment distributed as grants to 20 local projects over the next two years.

The initiative, run via the AI for Good Lab, supports innovators tackling challenges in sustainability, health, and social impact - ranging from AI-powered wildfire risk reduction tools and urban wildlife monitoring to medical language translation and accessible science assessments for rural schools.

Grant awardees, including organizations like Washington State University, the University of Washington, and local nonprofits, will not only receive funding and Azure service credits but also gain access to scientific mentorship and collaboration with the AI for Good Lab's experts, fostering scalable solutions that address critical community needs.

• Major investment: Microsoft is providing $5 million in grants over two years to benefit 20 local projects.
• AI for Good Lab: This initiative supports innovation focused on sustainability, health, and social impact in Washington.
• Comprehensive support: Awardees receive funding, Azure service credits, scientific mentorship, and access to lab expertise.
• Community projects: Efforts include AI-driven tools for wildfire risk, urban wildlife, medical translation, and rural education.
• Public benefit emphasis: Projects like pneumonia detection in care homes and ecosystem monitoring highlight positive impact.

By supporting projects like AI-driven pneumonia detection in care homes and real-time monitoring of Puget Sound's ecosystem, Microsoft underscores its commitment to innovation rooted in tangible public benefit.

For a deeper look at the awardees and the impact of these grants, visit the official AI for Good Lab announcement, coverage by King 5 News, and details at Microsoft Research.

Microsoft is set to make one of the tech industry's largest infrastructure investments, allocating approximately $80 billion in fiscal year 2025 to build AI-enabled data centers, with more than half earmarked for U.S. facilities.

According to company president Joseph Thomas, this bold commitment is designed to secure American leadership in the global artificial intelligence race, framing AI as “the electricity of our age” and forecasting its foundational role in economic competitiveness and innovation for decades ahead.

However, this massive spending surge comes as Washington state finalizes new tax policies targeting major tech players like Microsoft and Amazon to address a record budget deficit - legislation that tech leaders warn could undermine the region's innovation ecosystem and job growth.

As the debate continues in Olympia, experts caution that balancing ambitious AI investment with prudent tax policy is critical to maintaining Washington's status as a tech powerhouse and shaping its future workforce.

For a deeper dive into Microsoft's vision and the stakes for American AI leadership, see The Golden Opportunity for American AI, details on the $80 billion data center plan in Microsoft to spend $80bn on AI data centers in 2025, and a full breakdown of legislative changes at Washington State Tax Hikes Target Tech Giants That Made It Rich.

Washington's life sciences industry experienced remarkable growth over the past decade, reaching a valuation of $41.2 billion and supporting more than 118,000 jobs statewide, with AI integration catalyzing both innovation and investment despite recent sector-wide hiring slowdowns.

The state saw $2.65 billion invested in biotech and AI-related deals in 2024, with University of Washington's Institute for Protein Design and collaborations like the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center's $40 million AI initiative with Microsoft and NVIDIA driving global leadership in AI-powered drug discovery and medical research according to a Business Wire industry report.

Industry trends mirror this local momentum at the national and global level, with AI now forecasted to generate up to $410 billion annually within biopharma by the end of the year and global pharma AI investment projected to soar from $4 billion in 2025 to $25 billion by 2030 - a 600% increase, underscoring the urgency for efficient AI adoption and governance frameworks as outlined in recent analytics from Coherent Solutions and $25B Potential in Accelerating AI's Impact and Value in Pharma.

Amid funding volatility and high job competition, the demand for talent at the intersection of biology, data science, and digital health remains strong, positioning Washington as a key hub for AI-enabled biotechnology breakthroughs and workforce opportunities in the years ahead.

Washington State University researchers have unveiled a groundbreaking artificial intelligence model designed to predict which animal species are most likely to harbor and spread viruses capable of infecting humans - a key step toward preventing future pandemics.

By analyzing both host characteristics and viral genetics, the model outperforms previous methods in identifying potential reservoirs for orthopoxviruses, such as those responsible for smallpox and mpox.

Notably, it can pinpoint geographic hotspots for spillover risk, including Southeast Asia, equatorial Africa, and the Amazon - regions with high biodiversity and low vaccination rates since routine smallpox immunization ceased in 1980.

The AI accurately identified likely hosts, such as rodents, cats, canids, mustelids, skunks, and raccoons, while correctly excluding rats, which laboratory evidence shows are resistant to mpox.

This advance, published in Communications Biology, enables more targeted and efficient wildlife surveillance, allowing public health efforts to monitor and intervene before outbreaks can occur.

The WSU team, working with international collaborators and supported by the Viral Emergence Research Institute, emphasizes that their approach can be adapted to anticipate other viral threats as well, heralding a shift toward more proactive global disease management.

Read more in the official press release from WSU, coverage by the Technology Networks, and an accessible summary on FOX 28 Spokane.

This April, Meta officially entered the intensifying AI race with the debut of its first standalone Meta AI app, positioning itself as a direct competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini.

Built on the advanced Llama 4 model, the app offers users a highly personalized assistant experience that adapts to their preferences and context, drawing on information shared across Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram for enhanced, context-aware responses - a feature currently available in the U.S. and Canada.

Unlike earlier integrations within WhatsApp and Messenger, the new app consolidates Meta's AI features, introducing a Discover feed for users to explore, share, and remix interactions, and supports seamless switching between devices, including Meta's Ray-Ban smartglasses.

Unveiled at LlamaCon, Meta's inaugural developer conference, this move marks a significant escalation in the global AI assistant market, with Meta now joining industry giants in offering cross-platform, conversational AI designed for daily problem solving, creativity, and connectivity.

For a closer look at Meta's new personal assistant and its ambitious vision, visit the official announcement, read a thorough industry analysis on Meta's direct challenge to ChatGPT, and see an overview of the LlamaCon event and the developer tools launched for this next chapter in AI.

Microsoft has taken a major step in making artificial intelligence more personal and useful for everyday life with its rollout of next-generation Copilot features in April 2025.

The revamped Copilot acts as an AI companion, capable of remembering key personal details (like favorite foods or important dates), providing tailored suggestions, and even taking actions on users' behalf - such as booking event tickets or sending gifts via partnerships with services like OpenTable, Expedia, and Booking.com.

Key highlights of the latest Copilot upgrades include:

• Personalized AI assistance: Copilot can remember important details and offer recommendations based on user preferences, making daily planning more convenient.
• Action automation: By collaborating with service partners, Copilot allows tasks like booking and gift-sending to be performed automatically, helping users save time.
• Copilot Vision: This innovation lets users engage with their environment through their device camera, with the AI offering insights such as plant care tips and decorating suggestions.
• Customization and continuity: Users can modify Copilot's appearance and enjoy seamless chat continuity across devices for a more integrated experience.
• Research and creativity tools: Advanced features like Pages and AI-generated podcasts aid users in organizing information and content creation.

Critics and industry analysts like Thomas Johnson are watching to see how consumers respond to this broad, user-oriented vision, as Microsoft aims to make Copilot as essential as the PC was a generation ago.

For more on Microsoft's new AI companion, explore the official announcement on Your AI Companion, see an in-depth feature overview from CNET's Copilot Update Analysis, and read the latest feature roundup at Microsoft 365 Insider Blog.

Washington State has moved forward with a sweeping new tax package that targets the tech sector and large employers in an effort to close a significant multi-billion-dollar budget shortfall.

Passed in the final days of the legislative session and now awaiting the governor's signature, the measures will generate an estimated $9.4 billion over four years by permanently raising business and occupation tax rates, expanding the sales tax to additional services, and introducing a steep increase to the “advanced computing surcharge” paid by major tech firms like Microsoft and Amazon aimed directly at tech giants.

While lawmakers emphasize these actions are necessary to support core public services and erase a projected deficit, business groups and innovation advocates have expressed strong concerns that the new taxes - described as the largest hike in state history - could threaten Washington's world-renowned tech ecosystem, discourage startups, and drive away jobs by dampening innovation.

The tax changes affect a wide range of industries, including hospitals and banks, but the focus on advanced computing and corporate surcharges mark a decisive move to extract more revenue from the state's largest technology employers as detailed in new budget legislation, setting the stage for ongoing debate over the future of innovation and economic competitiveness in Tacoma and across Washington.

The recent revelation that a Seattle Police Department sergeant used OpenAI's ChatGPT to help draft internal reports and emails has sparked a citywide debate over artificial intelligence in law enforcement and a push for clear policy standards.

The Office of Police Accountability (OPA) confirmed the sergeant's use of generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Grammarly for non-criminal communications, prompting concerns about transparency, accuracy, and the handling of potentially sensitive information.

While the sergeant, Thomas Martinez, was cleared of wrongdoing, watchdogs and civic leaders highlighted the lack of an official SPD policy for AI usage, leaving officers uncertain about what's permissible - and raising fears about inadvertent privacy breaches and “hallucinated” errors that could undermine trust or legal proceedings.

In response, the OPA formally recommended that SPD create a detailed department policy to clarify when and how AI tools can be used, and under what conditions such usage should be disclosed, echoing a growing national dialogue around AI accountability in criminal justice (Axios: Watchdog urges police AI policy).

The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office went further, with Susan White reiterating its policy to prohibit any police report narratives written by AI - emphasizing that current products aren't robust or reliable enough to withstand legal scrutiny and could compromise evidence integrity (FOX 13 Seattle: SPD AI policy debate).

As the SPD weighs policy revisions and transparency measures, the controversy underscores just how quickly generative AI is forcing public agencies to rethink their practices and responsibility to the community (DivestSPD: SPD mulls AI policy after ChatGPT use).

• Artificial Intelligence policies: There is a growing need for clear AI usage standards in law enforcement to ensure transparency and trust.
• Accountability concerns: The risk of privacy breaches and AI-generated errors emphasizes the importance of robust oversight and guidance.
• AI in report writing: Current AI tools are not reliable enough to produce police narratives that can withstand legal scrutiny.
• Agency response: Agencies are adapting rapidly by considering or implementing new policies for emerging technologies like generative AI.

“Generative AI is prompting agencies to reevaluate policies and operational practices at an unprecedented pace,” said Linda Jackson, reflecting the current sense of urgency in public sector technology adoption.

Artificial intelligence is making significant strides in Tacoma and across Washington, where AI-powered tools now play a critical role in healthcare diagnostics and patient care.

Recent advances have resulted in dramatically higher accuracy for disease detection - AI systems, for example, have achieved up to 84% accuracy in prostate cancer detection compared to 67% for human physicians, and certain models have reached 94% accuracy in identifying lung nodules, far outpacing traditional methods.

These tools are not only improving clinical outcomes by enabling earlier and more precise diagnoses, but are also reducing diagnostic errors, streamlining administrative workflows, and making personalized medicine accessible to more patients, especially in underserved communities.

• AI transforms healthcare diagnostics by delivering higher accuracy and earlier disease detection than traditional methods.
• AI applications extend beyond imaging, including virtual primary care, remote patient monitoring, and accelerated drug discovery, with success rates nearly double those of standard therapies (AI in Medicine: The Future of Healthcare Is Happening Now).
• Regulatory and ethical challenges are emerging, requiring transparency, responsibility, and data privacy protections for AI technology in medicine (AI-powered diagnostics: The regulatory hurdles that need to be overcome).
• Collaboration among local clinics, tech innovators, and public stakeholders ensures the AI revolution benefits Tacoma's diverse communities (How AI is Improving Diagnostics and Health Outcomes, Transforming Healthcare).

As Patricia Gonzalez notes, "The integration of AI into healthcare is not just about efficiency, but about delivering more equitable, precise, and accessible care for all Tacoma residents."

Looking ahead, these collaborative efforts are making AI-driven healthcare more inclusive and effective for Tacoma and beyond, ensuring continued improvements in patient outcomes and equitable access.

This month, Tacoma's news consumers and journalists alike are calling for a new era of transparency and ethics as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly woven into news production.

Recent research highlights a prevailing demand for simple, clear disclosures of AI involvement - audiences overwhelmingly want news organizations to visibly label AI-generated content and ensure robust human oversight before publication, aiming to preserve trust and journalistic integrity in the age of automation (news audiences' expectations).

National summits and academic initiatives echo these concerns, emphasizing the pivotal role of trustworthy AI policies and the societal responsibility of journalists to hold power - including algorithmic power - to account (AI, ethics, and journalism summit).

Local thought leadership, such as work by WSU's Dr. Jennifer Henrichsen, further underscores the stakes for democracy and the rule of law, urging multidisciplinary collaboration to combat disinformation and maintain public trust in knowledge systems (WSU professor explores ethics in journalism).

As Tacoma faces the opportunities and risks presented by AI-powered journalism, a shared commitment to responsible innovation, audience engagement, and ethical standards will shape the city's information landscape and civic life.

• Transparency in journalism is increasingly demanded by audiences as AI-generated content becomes common.
  Audiences want visible labeling of AI involvement.
• Ethical standards and human oversight are viewed by experts as essential to preserving trust.
  Trust requires robust human checks on automation.
• Collaboration across disciplines is advocated by local leaders like Barbara White to fight disinformation and maintain public trust.
  Teamwork among journalists and technologists is vital.

“A shared commitment to responsible innovation and ethical standards will shape Tacoma's information landscape and civic life.” - Jennifer Taylor

As Tacoma navigates an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence and rapid tech development, the balance of innovation, equity, and public trust has never been more central.

Local and national leaders are actively addressing both opportunities and challenges - Washington's Chief Justice Patricia Smith has underscored the promise of responsible AI adoption in the justice system, while emphasizing the need to avoid deepening systemic biases that new technologies could introduce and to safeguard against risks like deepfake evidence or automation reinforcing inequality (equity and AI concerns in the courts).

At the federal level, directives such as President Trump's recent Executive Order frame AI as a driver of economic competitiveness and national security, but also prioritize civil rights and transparency, with new mandates for Chief AI Officers and strong oversight on high-impact applications (federal AI policy and oversight).

Meanwhile, the private tech sector continues to accelerate innovation focused on responsible deployment - as seen in the launch of scalable, AI-driven teams empowering local industries to adopt modern tools while community stakeholders advocate for inclusivity and fairness in implementation (private sector AI integration).

Tacoma's path forward will be defined by how leaders, institutions, and residents collectively harness AI's transformative power without compromising democratic values, ensuring opportunity and protection for all.