TechTank

By Brookings InstitutionNews Technology Government Politics

TechTank episodes

October 31, 2022 Latino voters, midterm elections, and the effects of misinformation, and disinformation
Latino voters registered and voted in higher numbers in the 2020 presidential election than in prior years, according to a 2021 report, and recent findings from the Pew Research Center count 34.5 million eligible Latino voters, which is a significant increase since the last midterm elections. The results of the 2022 midterms will have lasting consequences on American politics and policy, making it critical to protect and amplify Latino voices along with the type of information they receive to make credible opinions about potential candidates and their platforms

Tech Tank co-host, Nicol Turner Lee, spoke with Gabriel Sanchez, a David M. Rubenstein fellow in Governance Studies and faculty at the University of New Mexico, and Nora Benavidez, senior counsel and director of Digital Justice and Civil Rights at Free Press, about the ecosystem of Spanish-language media. The experts discussed how the prevalence of mis- and disinformation can be better identified and mitigated to avoid potential voter suppression efforts impacting Latino voters as the midterm elections near.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
46 min
October 17, 2022 How to improve election security
To protect public integrity and faith our election, it is integral for the United States to work to combat
existing misinformation, protect the safety of election officials, and guarantee that existing cybersecurity
measures are adequate in protecting the vote of the American people. On TechTank, Darrell West is
joined by Elaine Kamarck and Elizabeth Howard to discuss these topics and more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
29 min
October 03, 2022 Can AI Developers Be Incentivized to Debias their Algorithms?
The prevalence and technical relevance of machine learning algorithms have increased over the years, making predictive decision-making tools part of the everyday lives of online users. Today, it is harder to discern what decisions are made by humans, and the others that rely upon the cognition of machines. On this new episode of the Tech Tank podcast, Darrell West is joined by Nicol Turner Lee, Senior Fellow and the Director of the Center for Technology Innovation who explores the need for a proposed Energy Star rating, or incentive-based rating system to improve the performance and optimization of these online tools.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
46 min
September 19, 2022 Undersecretary Xochitl Torres-Small on expanding access to rural broadband
On this episode of TechTank, host Nicol Turner Lee is joined by Undersecretary Xochitl Torres Small.
Together, they discuss the administration’s ongoing work to close the urban-rural digital divide, how IIJA
funding has helped the USDA expand programs such as the ReConnect program, and how the USDA has
been working to meet different communities’ hyperlocal needs.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
38 min
September 06, 2022 Do you know where your spectrum is? The U.S.’s never- ending quest for more bandwidth
Spectrum policy has been essential in determining how to encourage communications technology
development, while ensuring equitable access. On TechTank, Nicol Turner Lee, Andrew Von Ah, Shane
Tews and Kathleen Burke discuss pressing topics in spectrum policy and interrogate if the lack of
available spectrum will be a dealbreaker in closing the digital divide.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
44 min
August 22, 2022 The weaponization of information threatens American democracy. What should we do about that?
On TechTank, Samantha Lai and Darrell West discusses his most recent book, “Power Politics: Trump and the Assault on American Democracy.” Together, they contend with how the weaponization of information threatens American democracy, and what could be done to protect it.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
38 min
August 08, 2022 How does tech policy fall short in protecting people with disabilities?
On TechTank, guest host Samantha Lai is joined by Lydia X.Z. Brown, Alex Engler and Henry Claypool to
discuss how people with disabilities are affected by existing technologies. They investigate issues with
privacy, AI bias, surveillance technology and more, and consider what is needed to rectify these wrongs.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
40 min
July 25, 2022 How does the internet facilitate worsening gun violence?
Not a single week of 2022 has passed without multiple mass shootings. 343 people have been killed
and 1,391 injured through July 4th of this year. On TechTank, host Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, Carol Graham and
Darrell West examine the role social media has played in past mass shootings and look into how the
public has reacted online to prospects of gun legislation and rising political polarization in the US.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
41 min
July 11, 2022 How do we center equity in the future of telehealth?
Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency orders and pandemic-era flexibilities for telehealth are quickly expiring, thus ending the many conveniences of telehealth that people benefited from. On TechTank, Samantha Lai is joined by Nicol Turner Lee and Niam Yaraghi to discuss their forthcoming research paper on the future of telehealth, “The roadmap to telehealth efficacy: care, health, and digital equities.”
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
42 min
June 27, 2022 Will Americans finally see bipartisan federal privacy legislation?
On TechTank, host Nicol Turner Lee is joined by Cameron Kerry and Jennifer King to discuss the current bipartisan and bicameral draft of the American Data Privacy and Protection Act and whether the U.S. can soon expect national legislation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
36 min

About TechTank

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TechTank is a biweekly podcast from The Brookings Institution exploring the most consequential technology issues of our time. From artificial intelligence and racial bias in…