Innovation Files: Where Tech Meets Public Policy

Over the last several years, public opinion on technology and the use of data has shifted from excitement to skepticism to fear. Rob and Jackie sat down with Daniel Castro, Vice President of ITIF and Director of the Center for Data Innovation, to discuss the negative effect of techlash on human outcomes.

• Robert D. Atkinson and David Moschella. Technology Fears and Scapegoats: 40 Myths about Privacy, Jobs, AI, and Today’s Innovation Economy, (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024).
• Robert D. Atkinson, Doug Brake, Daniel Castro, Colin Cunliff, Joe Kennedy, Michael McLaughlin, Alan McQuinn, and Joshua New, “A Policymaker’s Guide to the “Techlash” —What It Is and Why It’s a Threat to Growth and Progress,” (ITIF, October 2019)

The future will be much improved if society fights the fear of technology. Rob and Jackie sat down with Jim Pethokoukis, Senior Fellow and DeWitt Wallace Chair at the American Enterprise Institute, to discuss how the sci-fi fantasy of the future isn’t as far off as we think. 

• James Pethokoukis. The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised, (Center Street, 2023).
• Robert D. Atkinson and David Moschella. Technology Fears and Scapegoats: 40 Myths about Privacy, Jobs, AI, and Today’s Innovation Economy, (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024).

• Robert D. Atkinson, Doug Brake, Daniel Castro, Colin Cunliff, Joe Kennedy, Michael McLaughlin, Alan McQuinn, and Joshua New, “A Policymaker’s Guide to the “Techlash” —What It Is and Why It’s a Threat to Growth and Progress,” (ITIF, October 2019)
• Hodan Omaar, “No, We Aren’t in an Oppenheimer Moment for AI,” (ITIF, July 2023)

Climate change is a global problem, with two polarized viewpoints making it difficult to find a solution. Rob and Jackie sat down with Robin Gaster, Director of Research at ITIF's Center for Clean Energy Innovation, to discuss how price/performance parity in green technologies can bridge the gap between left and right viewpoints on clean energy. 

• Robin Gaster, Robert D. Atkinson, and Ed Rightor, “Beyond Force: A Realist Pathway Through the Green Transition,” (ITIF, July 2023).

• Robin Gaster, “A Realist Approach to Hydrogen,” (ITIF, January 2024).

The past few years have seen a remarkable rise in the quality and quantity of deepfakes. Rob and Jackie discussed the rise of deepfakes with Ryan Long, Vice-Chairman of the California Lawyers Association, Licensing and Technology Transactions Group, Intellectual Property Section, and explored how to harness this technology responsibly while preventing abuse.

• Henry A Kissinger, Eric Schmidt and Daniel Huttenlocher. The Age of AI: And Our Human Future, (Little, Brown and Company, 2021).
• Megan Garber, “The Man Who Saved the World by Doing Absolutely Nothing,” (The Atlantic, September 2013).

• Daniel Castro, “Joe Biden Did Not Approve This Fake Message,” (ITIF, March 2024).
• Daniel Castro, “Blame Lawmakers, Not AI, for Failing to Prevent the Fake Explicit Images of Taylor Swift,” (ITIF, January 2024).

The term ‘supply chain’ is relatively new, but the activities involved are not as new as we think. Rob and Jackie sat down with Yossi Sheffi, Director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, to discuss the complex history of supply chains and how technology and AI will continue to evolve supply chain processes in the future.

• Yossi Sheffi. The Magic Conveyor Belt: Supply Chains, A.I., and the Future of Work, (MIT CTL Media, 2023).

• Stephen Ezell and Stefan Koester, “Transforming Global Trade and Development With Digital Technologies,” (ITIF, May 2023).

Amidst the burgeoning advancements in autonomous vehicles (AVs), striking a balance between expectation and reality emerges as a challenge. Rob and Jackie sat down with Richard Mudge, president and founder of Compass Transportation and Technology, to discuss how innovations in the world of AVs can affect safety, productivity, and job creation.

• Michigan.gov. “I-94 Connected & Automated Vehicle (CAV) Corridor Proposed Project,” Michigan Department of Transportation.

• Aswin Prabhakar. “Logic, Not Emotions, Should Guide Autonomous Vehicle Deployment,” (Center for Data Innovation, December 2023).

While quantum computing technology is maturing more slowly than other innovations, its potential is vast. Rob and Jackie sat down with Murray Thom, vice president of product management at D-Wave, to discuss quantum computing applications already being put into place, and possible advancements in the future. 

• Hodan Omaar. “The U.S. Approach to Quantum Policy,” (Center for Data Innovation, October 2023). 
• Congress.gov. "Text - H.R.6227 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): National Quantum Initiative Act," December 21, 2018.

• “Quantum Computing: The Case for a National Task Force,” (Center for Data Innovation, February 2022).
• Hodan Omaar. “What Should Congress Include in The Next National Quantum Initiative Act?,” (Center for Data Innovation, May 2023).

Used to its full potential, artificial intelligence (AI) can assist employees, improve interactions with customers, and increase efficiency. Rob and Jackie sat down with Nitin Mittal, a principal with Deloitte Consulting, to discuss how AI is being used to enhance work environments. 

• Thomas H. Davenport and Nitin Mittal. All-in On AI: How Smart Companies Win Big with Artificial Intelligence, (Harvard Business Review Press, 2023).
• “State of AI in the Enterprise, 5th edition report,” (Deloitte United States, 2022).

• Patrick Grady and Daniel Castro, “Tech Panics, Generative AI, and the Need for Regulatory Caution,” (ITIF, May 2023).

Forced local data storage requirements are at the heart of both digital protectionism and digital authoritarianism. Rob and Jackie sat down with Nigel Cory, associate director covering trade policy at ITIF, to discuss how data localization reduces trade, slows productivity, and increases prices.

• Nigel Cory, “How the G7 Can Use ‘Data Free Flow With Trust’ to Build Global Data Governance,” (ITIF, July 2023).
• Nigel Cory, “USTR Tai’s Justification to Take a Time-out on Digital Trade Does Not Hold Up,” (ITIF, Dec 2023).

To flourish, innovation hubs need the right combination of talent, tech, funding, and market access. Rob and Jackie sat down with Jessica Corrigan, the director of M&T's Tech Academy, to discuss how smaller regions can become powerful innovation ecosystems.

• Robert D. Atkinson, “Comments to the Commerce Department Regarding Implementation of the Regional Technology and Innovation Hub Program,” (ITIF, March 2023).

• Matt Ashare, “At M&T Bank, modernization and talent strategies intersect in the cloud,” (CIO Dive, June 2023).
• Robert D. Atkinson, “Understanding the U.S. National Innovation System, 2020,” (ITIF, November 2023).