TechTank

By Brookings InstitutionNews Technology Government Politics

TechTank episodes

August 23, 2021 How will Biden’s broadband infrastructure plan address rural poverty while closing the digital divide?
The bipartisan infrastructure plan championed by President Biden and passed by the U.S. Senate aims to close America’s racial and rural broadband gaps. What local challenges lie ahead in the deployment of these resources? And what else can policymakers, industry, and civil society do to support these unconnected communities? Host Nicol Turner Lee dives into these issues and more with the Children’s Defense Fund’s Oleta Fitzgerald; Joe Kapp from the National Center for Resources Development, and Barry Toser of Declaration Networks Group.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
46 min
August 09, 2021 Why State Unemployment Insurance Programs Failed Workers During The COVID-19 Pandemic
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government enacted a relief package designed to help Americans cope with the pandemic and resulting economic downturn. However, inadequate unemployment insurance programs left many people in need without help. To understand the challenges, Darrell West and Annelies Goger discuss the poor performance of unemployment insurance programs due to IT infrastructure, government procurement and inadequate data collection.

You can listen to the episode and subscribe to the TechTank podcast on Apple, Spotify, or Acast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
35 min
July 26, 2021 Managing Privacy, Equity, and Access in COVID Vaccine Passports
Vaccination rates are on the rise and several countries, including the United States, are relaxing public health restrictions as they steer toward a full reopening. Digital health certificates, or vaccine passports, are part of these efforts as a number of organizations are requiring proof of vaccination. But while digital health certificates may facilitate a safer reopening and faster economic recovery, technological solutions to vaccine verification also raise valid concerns about the privacy of personal health data and their potential to exacerbate racial and socioeconomic inequities.

To discuss these issues, host Nicol Turner-Lee is joined by Mark Hall, Jay Stanley and Emily Skahill.

You can listen to the episode and subscribe to the TechTank podcast on Apple, Spotify, or Acast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
39 min
July 12, 2021 How Should Universities Deal with Student Cheating?
The COVID pandemic forced many schools and universities to remote education where students logged onto video calls for their classes. At one level, technology was helpful in giving students opportunities to continue learning despite being limited to their homes. Yet during the pandemic, there was a startling increase in the use of online monitoring software designed to prevent student cheating on exams. To discuss these issues, host Darrell West is joined by David Rettinger and Lindsey Barrett. David is a professor of psychological science and director of academic integrity programs at the University of Mary Washington. He also is the president emeritus of the International Center for Academic Integrity. Lindsey is the Fritz Family Fellow at Georgetown University Law Center and the author of a paper entitled “Rejecting Test Surveillance in Higher Education”

You can listen to the episode and subscribe to the TechTank podcast on Apple, Spotify, or Acast.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
29 min
June 28, 2021 Protecting Your Online Reputation
In the wild west known as the internet and social media, digital sliming is quite real. There are internet sites that spread information about people and then charge them to remove the negative material. Being subject to gossip and innuendo is just one more risk we face in the digital world. This so-called slander industry spreads lies, damages people’s reputations, and creates havoc in terms of employment, livelihoods, and community persona. Once someone’s reputation is damaged, it can be difficult to get a job, borrow money, and engage in a whole host of societal activities. In this episode, host Darrell West speaks with Quinta Jurecic, Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and a former Senior Editor at Lawfare. She offers valuable advice regarding how to manage digital activities and protect your online reputation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
37 min
June 14, 2021 Is Biden’s American Jobs Plan the beginning of a Tech New Deal?
President Biden’s American Jobs Plan promises to generate more than 19 million jobs for U.S. workers, with an emphasis on blue collar occupations, rural communities, and communities most impacted by climate change. A key component of the plan is to expand high-quality and reliable broadband internet to all Americans.

On this episode of the TechTank podcast, host Nicol Turner Lee talks with experts about economic trends associated with the critical infrastructure investments included in the plan, Why America Needs a Tech New Deal, and what opportunities and challenges exist for job growth in the tech sector.
Guests include Algernon Austin, senior researcher at the Thurgood Marshall Institute, Allison Scott, chief executive officer of the Kapor Center Foundation, and Rikin Thakker, chief technology officer of the Wireless Infrastructure Association.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
53 min
May 31, 2021 Did citizens' use of technology deliver justice for George Floyd and implicate bad policing?
On the anniversary of George Floyd's murder by police officer Derek Chauvin, questions remain about the emerging role of technology in the criminal justice process. Bystanders like Darnella Frazier, the teenager who recorded the death of Mr. Floyd on her smartphone, are now empowered to film police officers engaged in egregious and potentially unlawful acts. And footage from police body cameras can provide the public an opportunity to view violent incidents with their own eyes. In this episode, host Nicol Turner Lee speaks with Brookings scholars Rashawn Ray and Makada Henry-Nickie, and Keesha Middlemass, Associate Professor in Political Science at Howard University, about the benefits, risks, and limitations of technology in the criminal justice process.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
45 min
May 17, 2021 Facebook Oversight Board Decision Banning Trump
Should a powerful technology company such as Facebook have the power to ban public officials from its platform?

On January 7th, the day after a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol building, Facebook temporarily banned then President Donald Trump on the grounds that he had used a video and online statement to incite violence. Since then, the company referred the Trump case to an oversight board composed of 20 independent experts to determine whether to make the ban permanent and to provide guidance for other world leaders.

Last week, the Facebook Oversight Board reached its decision and affirmed the initial ban — but turned the issue of a permanent ban back to Facebook, with a request the company issue a decision on Trump within the next six months. The case raises important questions regarding the actual decision itself as well as the governance model of having a board of experts make decisions about platform access for national political leaders.

In this episode, host Darrell West speaks with Quinta Jurecic, Senior Editor at Lawfare and a Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, about the appropriateness of the Facebook Oversight Board’s decision on Trump and the governance model represented by the board itself.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
31 min
May 03, 2021 What to Expect from the Biden Administration on Antitrust Regulation and Big Tech
The nation’s current antitrust laws have historical regulatory and enforcement precedents. Recent hearings targeting Big Tech companies are beginning to question whether the existing laws are adaptable to current corporate behaviors and provide sufficient policing of deceptive or anti competitive behaviors or practices. In this episode of TechTank, host Nicol Turner Lee discusses the Biden administration's potential approach to antitrust and competition policies, particularly those affecting Big Tech, with Brookings Fellows Bill Baer and Tom Wheeler, and MIT Professor Nancy Rose.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
48 min
April 19, 2021 With new investments in broadband infrastructure, can we finally close the digital divide once and for all?
President Biden has put forth an agenda to Build Back Better that now includes physical infrastructure and job creation in an effort to stir economic recovery in the United States. Broadband infrastructure is included in his trillion dollar plan, alongside water, roads, and bridges, as well as the modernization of schools, and other institutional assets. Making high-speed broadband and the applications it enables available to all citizens are at the core of his agenda, which resonates with the recent proposal of a Tech New Deal by podcast co-host, Dr. Nicol Turner Lee. Prior to President Biden’s announcement, Congressman and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn released the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act with Senator Amy Klobuchar and other Democratic co-sponsors. The Act introduced comprehensive bicameral broadband infrastructure legislation to get high-speed broadband access to all Americans, with the specific focus on closing the digital divide. The proposed legislation will invest over $94 billion in infrastructure, and ensure internet access for citizens to learn, earn, and access telehealth from a viable broadband connection.

In this episode of TechTank, Dr. Nicol Turner Lee speaks with Congressman Jim Clyburn about his new legislation and former Federal Communications Commission Interim Acting Chair and Commissioner, Mignon Clyburn. The discussion will touch upon Dr. Turner Lee’s proposed Tech New Deal as a path for reaching the proposed legislative goals of the Majority Whip’s proposed legislation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
42 min

About TechTank

From the publisher's feed

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…