Artificial Intelligence is everywhere - but we can still make deliberate decisions about how we use it. Photo: 123rf
Guam - AI
Guam's Bureau of Womens Affairs has backed a bill that would make creating, sharing or possessing non-consensual deepfake pornography illegal.
Bureau director Jayne Flores told a public hearing the law would allow authorities to better support victims of digital crimes, according to Pacific Daily News.
Flores said the bureau could also qualify for additional US federal funding to expand their current services for survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
The Nonconsensual Intimate Depictions Act of 2025, sponsored by Senator William Parkinson and co-sponsored by Senator Shelly Calvo, seeks to hold people accountable for exploiting or defaming others with AI-generated sexual content.
Parkinson cited rising international cases where most victims were teenage girls, and Australia's warning that the issue is a crisis in schools.
He said the bill is a proactive step to protect Guam from the abuse of deepfake technology that is already on the rise overseas.
Northern Mariana Islands - gender
The Northern Marianas' Board of Education is debating policies on gender-neutral bathrooms and transgender participation in sports.
At last week's meetings on Tinian, board member Anthony Dela Cruz Barcinas warned that the system may lose US funding if it continues to construct all-gender restrooms.
He cited executive orders issued this year by President Donald Trump, requiring bathroom use in federally funded institutions to align with sex assigned at birth.
Board member Maisie Tenorio pushed back, saying the facilities are being misunderstood.
She said an all-gender restroom is just a restroom, the same as the restroom at your house or on an airplane, and it's about safety and comfort for students.
Papua New Guinea - politics
Papua New Guinea's political parties registrar wants tougher rules around Members of Parliament being able to party hop.
Emmanuel Pok said party-hopping by MPs is adding to political instability.
Pok said democracy is being weakened because MPs are not being held accountable to the people.
He said a proposed law change is before Parliament.
Aotearoa New Zealand - house fire
A man killed in a Canterbury house fire earlier this month was originally from the Cook Islands.
Emergency services were called to the property in Rakaia, south of Christchurch, late on 11 October, to find an adult deceased and a child in critical condition.
The child, who RNZ understands was aged two, died in hospital on the afternoon of 12 October.
The New Zealand Herald reported the man was Teariki Akaroa, who worked at Anzco Foods in Rakaia.
Plant manager Dallas Woodford said he will be remembered for his warm personality, great sense of humour, and the genuine care he showed to those around him.
