Commentary and analysis

The week of October 30, 2023 was a monumental week for artificial intelligence (AI) policy globally. As a quick recap: In the United States, one of the longest Executive Orders (EO) in history was signed by President Biden, aimed at harnessing the opportunities of AI while also seeking to address potential risks that may be […]

The recent AI Safety Summit in the United Kingdom offered a glimpse into a possible future of international cooperation on tackling risks associated with artificial intelligence.

This article originally appeared in the 2023 edition of AARP’s The Journal. To attract, retain, and support a more diverse workforce, companies will need to be deliberate and equitable in creating inclusive working conditions and lifelong learning opportunities to maintain digital literacy. Digital technology is becoming increasingly integrated into everyday life, but aging populations have […]

There is a need for policies that enable mainstream adoption and equitable scale-up of new genomic sequencing technologies capable of rapid and comprehensive surveillance of emerging biological threats. 

Every ten years, for a variety of disciplines, the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) is responsible for providing consensus recommendations, designated as “decadal surveys”, on behalf of the scientific community to shape national research programs. On September 12, 2023, NASEM released “Thriving in Space—Ensuring the Future of Biological and Physical Sciences Research: […]

Recommendations for the federal enterprise from planning to piloting to procurement.

Carbon dioxide removal technologies offer a crucial pathway to achieving net-zero emissions and minimizing the extent and duration of any overshoot.

Developing nations such as India are experiencing the exponential growth of e-waste from both imported and domestic sources. R2R can be part of the solution.

The green transition agenda—a shift toward clean energy and sustainable growth—is a top priority for many countries worldwide. Focus on this transition is increasing rapidly as new data presents a somber indication of how the world is being affected by the extent and pace of climate change, especially as emissions continue to increase. Last week, […]

The Group of Seven (G7) has lobbed the latest of three notable salvos in signaling that governments around the globe are focused on regulating Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI). The G7 ministers have established the Hiroshima AI Process, an inclusive effort for governments to collaborate on AI governance, IP rights (including copyright), transparency, mis/disinformation, and responsible […]

The African continent is emerging as a crucial player in the drive for innovation as technology continues to transform every industry. Due to its potential as a center for ground-breaking research and development (R&D) in artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies, US technology corporations are increasingly focusing on Africa.

New AI tools will have a huge impact on how people work and live and can support innovation and productivity across sectors. But it is also important to be mindful of its potential for misuse. Governments, policymakers, and other stakeholders must be proactive to ensure that these tools are not exploited to cause harm.

The CHIPS and Science Act, signed into law by President Biden on August 9, 2022, sends a strong message in support of a market-led standards system to bolster domestic technology innovation and competitiveness. In addition to nearly $53 billion in funding to encourage domestic manufacture of semiconductor chips, the CHIPS Act includes some $11 billion for […]

There is an increasingly visible phenomenon within Russia’s Big Tech scene: the pursuit of horizontal monopolization of the internet, or ‘ecosystemization.’

As in any era of exponential growth, the speed at which benefits are created for society is closely followed by potential threats that must be guarded against. Cyber risks pose a threat to the efficient delivery of key services and to the personal information of individual citizens. Service delivery is rapidly becoming more digital on the infrastructure front, but the range of electronic government solutions that have been deployed is even broader.

This year “will remain a year of very constrained supply chains,” Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger said at the Atlantic Council, and “we expect the shortages to continue into 2023.” 

Communities are evolving; as is the data they generate, so government service delivery must evolve as well. Richer data comes with a wide array of opportunities and a proportionate number of risks. Therefore, the future of digital government and centric service delivery requires a comprehensive roadmap that takes into account each area’s starting point, resources, and objectives.

To properly cope with climate-related dangers, the military must be able to future-proof its installations to defend themselves against twenty-first-century threats, specifically by capitalizing on the use of smart technologies.

Automation has the potential to displace millions of jobs, while creating new ones. Drastic shifts in the labor market should offer both hope and caution; they will impact each nation’s economy significantly, and alter the demand for skills in employees, but may also stir social structures and affect citizens’ trust in their respective governments, public institutions, and the private sector. How should global leaders react?

What can the United States do to reap the benefits of the GeoTech Decade and tame the era’s threats? Here are the key takeaways from the conversation.

The decade to come will be the “GeoTech Decade,” in which the technology trends that began in previous years will become fixed in their impact on society. The Commission on the Geopolitical Impacts of New Technologies and Data launched its first report with recommendations to guide leaders as they make choices regarding technology and data.

Carol Dumaine’s latest in a blog post series on “Reimagining a Just Society” recalls the tragic condo collapse in Florida last June and asks whether the commons elements of a typical condominium association suggest any parallels for understanding “global commons” or public goods in an age of pandemics, climate change and AI.

The question of ‘is this working as intended’ is applicable to contemporary concepts of national and international security as well as of economic value, growth, and development. Given how our world is being reshaped by new technologies, data capabilities, and geopolitics, leaders in both the public and private sector need to pause and consider if governance and geopolitics in today’s world are actually working – or not.

On a radically transformed planet, different conceptual maps are necessary for understanding what today’s priorities must be. These maps, or mental models, inform the framing that policy and decision makers use to weigh their options. Limitations in our conceptual frames can drastically limit the scope of considered futures.

In retrospect, the COVID-19 pandemic may mark a paradigm shift in global society if governments and their citizens worldwide today embrace its lessons, including many still emerging. One of these lessons concerns the dangers of ignoring knowledge we already had about interconnections between global public health, economic and national security, and ecological degradation.

This blog post series will explore the meaning of a “just society” through multiple lenses and in the context of today’s challenges, including but not limited to the coronavirus pandemic. With contributions from multiple authors, it aims to stimulate thinking and questions that distill the prerequisites and responsibilities for “just societies” in our times. COVID-19 spotlights […]

The GeoTech Center’s mission is to define practicable initiatives to ensure new technologies and advances in data capabilities benefit people, prosperity, and peace in open societies. Its overarching goal is a “world comprised of just societies.” The GeoTech’s mandate is an ambitious one and, while focused on applying new technologies to solutions to global problems, is anchored in an explicit assumption that its efforts will promote just societies.

Dr. Tiffany Vora continues her insights on vaccine hesitancy by laying out a human-centered health campaign approach that multiple sectors, from public health to social media companies, can consider.

Dr. Tiffany Vora shares insights from a recent peer-reviewed investigation of online interactions about vaccination and integrates these insights with an orthogonal approach to understanding vaccine hesitancy.