TechTank

By Brookings InstitutionNews Technology Government Politics

TechTank episodes

June 13, 2022 Exploring the intersection of tech policy and LGBTQ+ rights
This year’s Pride Month comes at a difficult time for LGBTQ+ rights. Over the past year, there have been over 300 anti-LGBTQ bills proposed in at least 28 states, including Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill that aims to limit LGBTQ+ discussion in schools, and a bill in Ohio that would ban transgender women from participating in high school and college athletics that includes a “verification process” of checking the genitals of those accused of being transgender.
On TechTank, Samantha Lai, guest host and research assistant at the Center for Technology Innovation, is joined by David Johns, executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition, and Chris Wood, executive director and co-founder of LGBT Tech, to discuss how technology concerns surrounding privacy, content moderation, facial recognition, and more shape the online experiences of the LGBTQ+ community.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr
May 30, 2022 Deciphering the Metaverse
There’s been a lot of hype surrounding the concept of the Metaverse, but questions surrounding issues of privacy, security, virtual content moderation, the sale of virtual goods, and data ownership remain. On TechTank, host Darrell West is joined by Tom Wheeler and Katherine Cross to discuss the Metaverse and what issues it raises for consumers and businesses.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
33 min
May 16, 2022 Can policymakers level the playing field in the computer sciences?
In this technological age, workforce demands for computer science skills have evolved and keep evolving. On TechTank, Dr. Nicol Turner Lee is joined by Michael Hansen, Nicolas Zerbino and Kimberly Scott to discuss what it means to equitably expand access to computer science education for K-12 students. They also look at a recently-released report authored by Hansen and Zerbino, “Exploring the state of computer science education amid rapid policy expansion”.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
45 min
May 02, 2022 What should we do about computer chip shortages?
Semiconductor chips powered the digital revolution. However, recent shortages exacerbated by the global pandemic and geopolitical tensions have slowed production and imperiled economic activity. On TechTank, Darrell West is joined by Jeremy Mark and Emily Kilcrease to discuss what to expect going forward, ways to improve supply chain resiliency and more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
32 min
April 18, 2022 A conversation on improving the STEM pipeline with UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski
On #TechTank, Dr. Turner Lee and Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, President of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, unpack the challenges of having a more inclusive tech workforce and discuss a pathway toward student success and professional achievement for under-represented students and professionals.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
42 min
April 04, 2022 How to discourage extremism and harmful activities on social media platforms
The Internet democratized the information ecosystem and generated many different uses. But at the same time, there are concerns about ways that social media platforms enable violent speech, extremism, and human abuses. On TechTank, Darrell West is joined by Ben Wittes and Quinta Jurecic to discuss how policymakers and regulators could proceed with content moderation on social media sites.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
33 min
March 21, 2022 A conversation with Jessica Brandt and Emerson Brooking on the information wars in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought forward many important questions about the social media landscape. In this episode of TechTank, guest host Samantha Lai is joined by Jessica Brandt and Emerson Brooking to discuss the role disinformation has played in this conflict, how social media companies and the American government have responded, and what precedence this sets for the future of the global internet.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
33 min
March 07, 2022 Civil rights and artificial intelligence: Can the two concepts coexist?
Nicol Turner Lee speaks to Renee Cummings and Lisa Rice on biases in artificial intelligence and how
they disproportionately impact historically marginalized groups in financial services, hiring, policing, and
more. Together, they will conduct a deep dive into these difficult questions and offer insight on
remedies to this pressing question of equitable AI.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
44 min
February 21, 2022 Laura Coates on racial inequities in our criminal justice system
On TechTank, Darrell West interviews Laura Coates on her new book, Just Pursuit: A Black Prosecutor’s Fight for Fairness. They talk about her views of the criminal justice system, racial and gender inequities, and ways digital technologies are complicating the works of prosecutors, defenders, and suspects. The two also discuss ways to improve the legal system and overcome existing injustices.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
34 min
February 07, 2022 Rep. Ro Khanna on democratizing our digital transformation
Darrell West interviews Congressman Ro Khanna about his new book, Dignity in a Digital
Age: Making Tech Work for All of Us. They discuss challenges from the ever-widening scope of
the digital world: how it has accentuated inequality, widened our political divide, threatened
personal privacy and more, as well as how improved policy can address these issues.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
38 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…