FRI AM News: WisBusiness: the Podcast with Sarah Buszka, Waukesha County Technical College’s Applied AI Lab; Wisconsin passes stringent crypto ATM regulation bill

March 27, 2026

— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Sarah Buszka, director of Waukesha County Technical College’s Applied AI Lab.

The lab specializes in working with industry partners to help them “grow and go” with AI, including entrepreneurs through various startup accelerators programs focused on the quickly changing technology.

“If you want to do it smartly and bring it into your organization, into your business, we’re the place to go for that type of help,” she said. “We provide training, consulting services, so we help business and industry navigate this whole kind of crazy world of AI right now.”

Buszka shares her thoughts on integrating AI with education, emphasizing WCTC’s focus on serving the needs of employers. She notes WCTC was the first college in Wisconsin to offer an undergraduate degree in AI.

“We’re very proud of that, we’re very forward-thinking with that regard,” she said. “Our graduates from that two-year program, our first crop of them will be graduating this May 2026 so we’re very excited about that.”

These students are currently working on capstone projects alongside partners in the industry, some of which were connected to the college through the Applied AI Lab as clients.

While the lab opened in late 2024, it’s already adding a second floor with a groundbreaking slated for this spring, Buszka noted.

“We’re going to be bringing our academic side of the house for our AI programs to be co-located with us, so then we’ll have even more of this crucible of innovation for our students, and for business and industry to co-mingle a lot more often,” she said.

Buszka, who joined WCTC in May 2025, worked previously as the senior relationship manager and technology strategist at Stanford University. She’s also held positions at UW-Madison.

While most people’s exposure to AI involves working with generative language models like ChatGPT, Buszka highlights other applications of the technology such as process automation.

She also touches on how AI might reshape higher education, pointing to applications in personalized learning, as well as the workforce.

“There’s a lot of folks who are asking me, ‘Okay, how do I bring AI into supply chain, how do I bring that into manufacturing?’ What is the intersection of AI and the manufacturing floor, right, that physical AI component?” she said. “So we’re doing a lot of work in that area, and I expect to see that play out more over a decade.”

Listen to the podcast and see the full list of WisBusiness.com podcasts.

— Wisconsin is the latest state to pass a bill to regulate cryptocurrency ATMs, as lawmakers’ concern over fraud — particularly targeting elderly citizens — mounts in statehouses across the country.

The bill, which received broad support in both chambers, now awaits Gov. Tony Evers’s signature.

Cryptocurrency ATMs, or virtual currency kiosks, let users deposit cash into a physical machine and deposit the funds in the form of cryptocurrency into a digital wallet. But the machines can facilitate fraud.

Scammers, posing as members of law enforcement, love interests or tech company representatives, use the machines to coerce victims to directly send tens of thousands of dollars to a digital wallet. Once sent, it can be difficult for victims to track or ever recoup funds if states do not have safeguards on the books.

Ten states passed laws in 2025 to regulate crypto ATMs. At least 22 bills have been introduced this year to regulate or outlaw the kiosks. Wisconsin introduced a similar bill last year (Assembly Bill 384) to regulate the machines, but it failed to gain traction.

Assembly Bill 968 would set a maximum daily transaction of $1,000 per user; require virtual kiosk operators to issue full refunds — including fees charged — if they inform the company and law enforcement of an instance of fraud within 30 days of the transaction; and require virtual operators to be licensed by the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions.

“Investigations from numerous states have found that 90% or more of the transactions completed on cryptocurrency kiosks are linked to fraud,” Rep. Steve Doyle, D-Onalaska, one of the bill’s sponsors, said in a statement to State Affairs. “In fact, the FBI found that in 2025 these scams totaled $333 million in losses around the country.”

See more from State Affairs.

— SHINE Technologies has entered an exclusive distribution agreement with C-Ray Therapeutics, a Chinese firm that will supply SHINE’s radiopharmaceutical products to businesses in China.

The Janesville nuclear technology business yesterday announced the distribution agreement, its latest aimed at meeting demand for nuclear medicine products in markets around the world. The announcement notes supply security “has long been a practical constraint” on radiopharmaceutical pipeline development in China.

Company CEO and founder Greg Piefer says combining C-Ray’s integrated development and manufacturing platform with SHINE’s large-scale isotope production will “help advance pipeline innovation and expand patient access to life-saving targeted radioligand therapies.”

Under the agreement, C-Ray Therapeutics will be the exclusive partner for distributing SHINE’s form of lutetium-177 in mainland China, aside from pre-existing partnerships, according to the announcement. Lu-177 is a widely used therapeutic radioisotope, used in targeted therapies for various forms of cancer.

C-Ray will supply the Lu-177 material to drug developers, biotech companies and health care institutions through its location in Chengdu, the capital of China’s southwestern Sichuan province.

See more in the release.

— U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore say the newly introduced Perinatal Workforce Act will help address gaps in maternal care as well as health labor shortages.

The two Wisconsin Dems this week announced the legislation, which would provide funding to establish and grow programs to boost the maternal health workforce by adding more nurses, midwives, physician assistants, doulas and others.

The proposal would also require the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide guidance to states on promoting “racially, ethnically, and professionally diverse maternity care teams” as well as studying the impacts of culturally sensitive care in communities of color, according to the announcement.

Baldwin, D-Madison, said the effort aims to address disparities and ensure every mother can access the help they need and deserve.

“Sadly, the reality is that too many women — especially women of color — face dangerous gaps in maternity care that put their and their babies’ lives at risk,” she said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Moore noted more than 80% of maternal deaths are preventable and called for making “critical interventions” to save more lives.

The Milwaukee Dem argues the legislation would “build the maternal workforce that we need to keep mothers and their babies healthy while meeting their cultural needs and addressing the shortage of perinatal workers.”

Their proposal has the support of Planned Parenthood Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, Children’s Wisconsin, The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness, Wisconsin Doulas of Color Collective Inc. and other organizations in the state.

See the bill text and release.

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