Tag: alaska

Alaska Plots AI-Driven Digital Identity, Payments, and Biometric Data System

Alaska is advancing plans for a far-reaching redesign of its myAlaska digital identity system, one that would weave “Agentic Artificial Intelligence” and digital payment functions into a unified platform capable of acting on behalf of residents.

A Request for Information issued by the Department of Administration’s Office of Information Technology describes a system where AI software could automatically handle government transactions, submit applications, and manage personal data, provided the user has granted consent.

We obtained a copy of the Request For Information here.

What once functioned as a simple login for applying to the Permanent Fund Dividend or signing state forms could soon evolve into a centralized mechanism managing identity, services, and money flows under one digital roof.

The plan imagines AI modules that can read documents, fill out forms, verify eligibility, and even initiate tokenized payments.

That would mean large portions of personal interaction with government agencies could occur through a machine acting as a proxy for the citizen.

While the proposal emphasizes efficiency, it also suggests a major change in how the state and its contractors might handle sensitive data.

The RFI describes an ambitious technical vision but provides a limited public explanation of how deeply such agentic AI systems could access, process, or store personal information once integrated with legacy databases. Even with explicit consent requirements, the architecture could concentrate extraordinary amounts of behavioral and biometric data within a single government-managed platform.

Security standards are invoked throughout the RFI, including compliance with NIST controls, detailed audit trails, adversarial testing, explainability tools, and human override features.

Yet those guardrails depend heavily on policy enforcement and oversight mechanisms that remain undefined.

The inclusion of biometric authentication, such as facial and fingerprint verification, introduces another layer of sensitive data collection, one that historically has proven difficult to keep insulated from breaches and misuse.

A later phase of the program extends the system into digital payments and verifiable credentials, including mobile driver’s licenses, professional certificates, hunting and fishing permits, and tokenized prepaid balances.

Those functions would be based on W3C Verifiable Credentials and ISO 18013-5, the same standards shaping national mobile ID programs.

This alignment suggests Alaska’s move is not isolated but part of a broader US trend toward interoperable digital identity frameworks. Observers concerned with privacy warn that such systems could evolve into a permanent, cross-agency tracking infrastructure.

The state’s document also calls for voice navigation, multi-language interfaces, and a new user experience designed to cover as many as 300 separate government services in one app.

Framed as modernization, the initiative nonetheless highlights an unresolved question: who truly controls a citizen’s digital identity once government and AI systems mediate nearly every transaction?

Once deployed, an AI that can act “on behalf” of a person also becomes capable of learning their patterns, predicting their needs, and operating continuously within government databases.

Once Alaska’s system moves forward, it will join a growing roster of governments weaving digital ID into the core of civic and online life.

Across Europe, Canada, and Australia, digital identity frameworks are increasingly framed as gateways to public and private services, while emerging proposals in the United States hint at a future where identity verification might become routine for accessing even basic online platforms.

These projects often promise efficiency, but their cumulative effect is to normalize constant identification, replacing the open, pseudonymous nature of the early internet with a model where every interaction begins with proving who you are.

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‘Positive Sign’: Native Americans Praise Reversal of Biden-Era Rule on Drilling in Alaskan Wildlife Refuge

A group of Native Americans are pleased government leaders have pushed back against a rule imposed by former President Joe Biden (D) regarding development in a wildlife refuge in Alaska.

The issue surrounds the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), Fox News reported Saturday.

That area is where Biden worked to choke an oil and gas lease sale before he left the White House and President Donald Trump took over following his victory in November 2024, according to Breitbart News.

Fox reported:

Using the Congressional Review Act, the Senate voted Thursday night to pass a resolution from Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, that formally reversed a Biden-era rule restricting more than 1 million acres to development in the refuge, where Native communities like Kaktovik reside.

Democrats have been concerned about potential harms to Alaskan communities if access to the ANWR was expanded for more energy development, the Fox article said.

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Public School Slaps ‘Does Not Endorse’ Stickers on US Constitution, Declaration of Independence

Only in today’s education climate could a public school district accidentally label the Constitution and Declaration of Independence as materials it “does not endorse.”

Yet that is exactly what happened in Anchorage, Alaska, earlier this month.

Anchorage Daily News reported that the Anchorage School District placed non-endorsement stickers on booklets containing the founding documents.

A parent posted a photo of the label on Nov. 3. The sticker read, “The Anchorage School District does not endorse these materials or the viewpoint expressed in them.”

The picture spread quickly across social media. Too many parents to count were rightly outraged that such a warning appeared on the most essential texts in American civic life.

District representative MJ Thim said the label was placed on the booklets erroneously.

Thim explained that the stickers are normally used for flyers and posters from outside organizations.

“This was our mistake,” he wrote in an email.

Thim said the stickers were used because that is standard practice for items that are not official district publications.

He said the district will review its procedures to make sure this does not happen again.

Thim also emphasized that the Constitution and Declaration of Independence are taught in every school. He said these documents “reflect the values we want every student to understand.”

Parents, however, found the incident troubling.

Karen Waldron, who posted the image on Facebook, said she was “honestly stunned.” She noted that these are not controversial documents, but the very foundation of our government.

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Alaska Schools’ Social Studies Standards Omit Washington, Lincoln, And Christianity 

Alaska’s new social studies standards don’t mention the Nome Gold Rush. They don’t mention the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. They don’t mention William Egan, the state of Alaska’s first governor, and they don’t mention Sarah Palin, who ran for Vice President of the United States. There’s a lot more that’s missing in the Alaska social studies standards, but you can tell right away that something is wrong when Alaska’s social studies standards leave Alaska’s children ignorant of the headlines of Alaska’s history and the most famous Alaskans.

Education departments in every state are on radical autopilot when they make social studies standards. Americans expect blue states to use their state social studies standards to impose identity politics ideology and action civics (vocational training in progressive activism) on schools and students, strip out factual content, and ignore or slander the history of Western civilization and America, and call it “social studies instruction” — that’s what you get in states such as Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Minnesota. But radical activists embedded in state education departments do the same thing in red states whenever policymakers and citizens aren’t looking. That’s what just happened in Alaska.

The Alaska Social Studies Standards (2024), produced by Alaska’s Department of Education and Early Development, avoided the worst of the blue-state social studies standards’ extreme politicization, unprofessional vocabulary, and ideologically extreme content. That’s because there’s hardly any historical content. The standards’ absences include basic facts of American history, much of how our government works, and our foundational documents of liberty. The standards also introduced substantial new amounts of politicized material.

How did Alaska’s Department get its curriculum so badly wrong?

The department outsourced much of the standards to the radical activists who have captured the national social studies establishment. Alaska’s standards take their structure and emphases from the National Council for the Social Studies’ (NCSS) ideologically extreme definition of social studies, as well as from its College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards. The C3 Framework replaces content knowledge with insubstantial and opaque “inquiry”; lards social studies with identity politics ideologies such as Critical Race Theory; and inserts ideologically extreme activism pedagogies such as Action Civics.

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7,000-year-old Village Sites Reveal Thriving Life on Remote Alaskan Island

Archaeological discoveries on Shuyak Island in Alaska’s Kodiak Archipelago have unveiled a remarkable chapter in Native American history, with the identification of what may be the island’s oldest known settlement dating back approximately 7,000 years.

The groundbreaking findings, announced by the Alutiiq Museum’s archaeology team, have dramatically expanded our understanding of ancient Indigenous settlement patterns across Alaska’s rugged coastal landscape. Led by Patrick Saltonstall, the museum’s curator of archaeology, the multi-year survey has uncovered dozens of previously undocumented village sites, particularly on the island’s lesser-studied eastern shores, reports Alaska Public Media.

Shuyak Island, known in the Alutiiq language as Suu’aq meaning “rising out of the water,” has long been considered sparsely populated throughout its history. Today, the island is largely encompassed by Shuyak Island State Park, attracting kayakers and wildlife enthusiasts to its pristine wilderness. However, the recent archaeological evidence tells a different story.

“Shuyak Island has always sort of been a place where I think it seems like there were fewer people up there,” Saltonstall explained. “But finding that, you know what your preconceptions are and what you actually find often don’t match” reported Archaeology Magazine.

The survey identified one remarkable village site featuring 11 house pits that researchers believe housed between 200 and 300 people approximately 300 years ago. Even more surprising was the discovery of the 7,000-year-old settlement, which represents the earliest evidence of human habitation ever found on the island.

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Federal Judge Rules Alaska Didn’t Violate Constitution When Restricting Intoxicating Hemp Products

A federal magistrate judge has ruled that the state of Alaska did not violate the U.S. Constitution when it acted to limit intoxicating hemp products in 2023.

In an order published May 23, Magistrate Judge Kyle Reardon granted summary judgment in favor of the state and against the Alaska Industrial Hemp Association, which sued two years ago in an attempt to overturn regulations imposed by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.

The court order means intoxicating hemp products, common in many other states, will remain illegal in Alaska unless sold through a licensed marijuana retailer.

“It was rewarding to be part of the process developing the regulations, and I was happy when we successfully defended against the motion for a preliminary injunction in 2023,” said Assistant Attorney General Kevin Higgins, by email. Higgins represented the state in the case.

“I’m not patting myself on the back too hard though,” he said. “The Division of Agriculture was motivated by public safety concerns when it took measured action to regulate an emerging industry. This was an easy case to make, which is probably why the plaintiffs didn’t file an opposition to the motion for summary judgment.”

An attorney representing the plaintiff did not answer a request for comment on Wednesday.

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Mysterious ‘UFO base’ uncovered by CIA becomes new US alien hotspot

A ‘UFO base’ mentioned in a declassified CIA document has fueled a surge in sightings, turning Mount Hayes into one of America’s top alien hotspots.

Rising over 8,000 feet, Mount Hayes sits within the so-called Alaska Triangle, a region notorious for unexplained disappearances and paranormal activity.

However, the CIA has never confirmed the alien base and the US government’s stance is that extraterrestrial life does not exist. 

Locals have reported streaks of colored lights, orbs traveling at high speed, and mysterious vanishing people. 

One report came from Jared Augustin, a former security officer, who claimed he saw a glowing orb hovering in the night sky near Mount Hayes before it suddenly split into three.

‘It was a UFO, of extraterrestrial origin,’ Augustin told DMAX UK, adding that he stood frozen, shaking as the bizarre sight unfolded.

Theories about alien activity have led the public to scour Google Maps for signs of the secret base.

Some conspiracy theorists claim there’s missing satellite data over Mount Hayes, allegedly to hide the base’s location.

‘Wow, that’s a big coincidence, in a very specific shape,’ one Reddit user commented, pointing to a rectangular patch seemingly missing from the mountain on Google Maps.

Mount Hayes is located within an area known for unexplained disappearances and paranormal activity.

Locals have aimed trail cameras at Mount Hayes, hoping to capture proof that the area is a UFO hotspot.

In an episode of History Channel’s Missing in Alaska, a local resident named Wilbur shared footage he believed showed an alien craft.

The video captured a glowing green light hovering over Mount Hayes. Within seconds, it appeared to vanish behind the mountain.

Investigators said the object had ‘hovering capabilities like a helicopter, but could also reverse direction instantly’ — something no known aircraft can do.

Based on its position and movement, the team estimated the object’s drop speed to be just over Mach 1 (the speed of sound).

In addition to mysterious airborne sightings, more than 2,000 people have vanished in the area since the 1970s.

Notable incidents include the 1972 disappearance of a plane carrying US House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, which vanished en route from Anchorage to Juneau. 

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Alaska Defies Court Order, Moves Forward with Controversial Bear-Killing Program Despite Ruling It Is Illegal

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) announced it will move forward with its controversial predator control program targeting bears in Western Alaska—despite a recent court ruling declaring the effort unconstitutional.

On Friday, the department announced plans to resume its aerial bear culling efforts in Western Alaska starting Saturday, despite a March 14 ruling by Superior Court Judge Andrew Guidi that declared the program illegal, Alaska Beacon reported.

The state claims it is acting within the bounds of emergency regulations passed by the Alaska Board of Game on March 27, which the Department argues were not explicitly invalidated by the courts.

“The court order did not prohibit these activities or invalidate emergency regulations adopted by the Alaska Board of Game on March 27, 2025,” the department said in a statement, citing the Board’s authority to authorize the renewed bear removal program.

The goal, the department insists, is to increase caribou calf survival and grow the herd’s numbers to a level that “supports hunting opportunities for all Alaskans and nonresidents.”

At its peak, the Mulchatna Caribou Herd supported over 48 communities and supplied more than 4,700 caribou annually, according to the state.

However, Superior Court Judge Christina Rankin ruled Wednesday that the state remains bound by Judge Guidi’s earlier decision, which found that the Board of Game failed to justify the emergency nature of the predator control regulations. She also noted that the Board’s new rule failed to correct the original constitutional shortcomings.

Despite this, Rankin declined to issue a temporary restraining order sought by the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, saying the request was moot under current legal circumstances. In response, the Alliance filed a fresh application Friday in an attempt to stop the resumed killing.

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Burgum Orders Nearly 20 Million Acres In Alaska Opened For Oil, Gas Development

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has directed the Bureau of Land Management to “pursue steps to expand opportunities for exploration and development” of oil, gas, and mineral resources across nearly 20 million previously off-limits acres within Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve (NPR) and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

The move was not unexpected after President Donald Trump issued a Jan. 20 ‘Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential’ executive actions package mandating federal agencies “expedite permitting and leasing of energy and natural resource projects,” prioritize “development of Alaska’s liquified natural gas (LNG) potential,” and expand fossil fuel development in the 23-million-acre NPR and 19.6-million acre ANWR.

Burgum followed through with a Feb. 3 order requiring the Bureau of Land Management to “exercise all lawful authority” in developing a plan to implement the president’s policy.

“It’s time for the U.S. to embrace Alaska’s abundant and largely untapped resources as a pathway to prosperity for the nation, including Alaskans,” Burgum said in a March 20 press release announcing the directive.

The sweeping actions by Trump and Burgum, who also chairs the National Energy Dominance Council, rescind “all regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, and any other similar agency actions … promulgated, issued, or adopted between Jan. 20, 2021, and Jan. 20, 2025,” essentially erasing dozens of actions related to Alaska by President Joe Biden and his administration.

During Trump’s first term, Congress directed the Department of Interior (DOI) to open a 1.56-million acre coastal plain area within ANWR’s Section 1002 to oil and gas drilling for the first time when it adopted the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the area could hold up to 11.8 billion barrels of oil.

However, the Biden administration auctioned only 400,000 acres in January 2025, drawing no bidders because “new severe restrictions” imposed in November 2024 made “any development economically and practically impossible,” Alaska argued in a Jan. 5 lawsuit that alleged DOI and the Bureau of Land Management were in violation of the TCJA.

Under the executive actions and Burgum’s directive, the bureau must now make the entire 1.56-million-acre ANWR coastal plain and 82 percent of NPR available for oil and gas leasing. More than 13 million of NPR’s 23 million acres had been off-limits to development for decades since at least 1980.

“For far too long, the federal government has created too many barriers to capitalizing on the state’s energy potential,” Burgum said.

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Alaska Natives say Biden’s last act against oil and gas makes them more eager for Trump’s return

With only a few days remaining in his presidency, Joe Biden took one more parting shot at the oil and gas industry — and Alaska Natives — Thursday. The Department of Interior recommended that approximately 3 million more acres in Alaska’s 23-million acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) region be protected from development. The announcement also provides direction for additional protections for impacts to “subsistence use,” which are areas used by Alaska Natives for traditional fishing and hunting. 

“This is just another slap in the face as Biden heads out the door. It was always about pushing his radical agenda and propping up his eco-elitist friends,” Larry Behrens, communications director for Power the Future, an energy advocacy group, told Just the News.

Indigenous voices

While presented as an expansion of protections for Alaska Native traditions, native communities in the North Slope have long been critical of the Biden-Harris administration’s attacks on oil and gas in the region, which they say provide needed economic development. Besides the jobs the industry provides, the tax revenues support infrastructure development in an area that previously had little. 

“The Biden administration is selectively citing Indigenous voices, while ignoring wide swaths of the North Slope Iñupiat, and fails to understand the implications of this announcement. Instead, it listened to voices that agreed with its policy agenda to justify its actions while ignoring the overwhelming majority of North Slope residents and locally elected leaders who opposed today’s decision,” Nagruk Harcharek, President of the Voice of Arctic Iñupiat (VOICE), said in a statement. 

The VOICE, which represents 21 communities and companies in the North Slope, spent years trying to gain an audience with Biden’s Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, only to have her continually ignore their requests. Finally in June, Haaland met with representatives of the VOICE.

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