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July 10, 2025
What Americans Really Think About Energy and Climate
Right before the 2024 election, my AEI colleague Ruy Teixeira and I engaged YouGov to conduct a survey of how Americans view various topics of energy and climate. Today at AEI, the full survey and our summary report is published, including the survey’s toplines and crosstabs (all are directly linked from the bottom of this post). Here are…
July 9, 2025
Free Speech and Tech Policy at the US Supreme Court, 2025
Event Summary On July 9, AEI hosted an expert panel examining the Supreme Court’s decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, along with broader issues related to online expression, regulatory authority, and technology policy. AEI’s Clay Calvert opened the discussion by outlining the facts of Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, summarizing the majority opinion, and explaining how…
July 9, 2025
A Practical Path for the Tech Exit: A Book Event with Clare Morell
Event Summary On July 9, Ethics & Public Policy Center Fellow and Technology and Human Flourishing Project Director Clare Morell joined AEI’s Timothy P. Carney to discuss her new book, The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones. AEI’s Christine Rosen opened the event with introductory remarks. In her conversation with…
July 9, 2025
Congress Should Avoid an App Store Crack-Up
Prominent members of Congress are reviving the Open App Markets Act (OAMA), a bill they say will create “a freer and fairer marketplace” in Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store. But rather than opening “the door to more choices and innovation,” the legislation would do the opposite: It would weaken security, reduce customer choice,…
July 8, 2025
The Texas Flash Floods
“This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States. . . We do not have a warning system.” — Judge Rob Kelly, Kerr County, Texas, 4 July 2025 As I write this, the death toll in the Texas flash floods now exceeds 70, with 12 people still missing, including 11 girls and one camp counselor….
July 8, 2025
As Congress Releases the AI Regulatory Hounds, A Reminder
The centerpiece of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” in tech policy circles was the “AI moratorium,” a temporary federal limit on state regulation of artificial intelligence. The loss of the AI moratorium, stripped from the bill in the Senate, elicited howls of derision from AI-focused policy experts such as the indefatigable Adam Thierer. But…
July 7, 2025
How the Vatican Is Shaping the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
As AI transforms the global landscape, institutions worldwide are racing to define its ethical boundaries. Among them, the Vatican brings a distinct theological voice, framing AI not just as a technical issue but as a moral and spiritual one. Questions about human dignity, agency, and the nature of personhood are central to its engagement—placing the…
July 3, 2025
The Open App Markets Act: How “Competition” Reform Would Open America’s Digital Doors to Hackers and Foreign Adversaries
The Open App Markets Act (OAMA) has reemerged in Congress with renewed momentum, aiming to break up what some lawmakers perceive as monopolistic control over mobile app distribution. Supporters frame this legislation as a victory for competition and consumer choice, claiming it will free users from the restrictive hold of Apple’s App Store and Google…
July 2, 2025
Cheerleading is Dumb Energy Policy
Any moment now, we will be releasing the full results of the AEI Energy/Climate Survey of the American public that my AEI colleague Ruy Teixeira and I conducted right before the election. The survey provides a fascinating snapshot of what Americans think about a wide range of climate and energy issues. Today, I share some what the…
July 2, 2025
Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton: Doctrinal Drift Erodes Online Speech Protection and Court Credibility
Supreme Court opinions typically are governed by well-established doctrines for determining whether a statute passes First Amendment muster. Notably, content-based laws (ones targeting particular subjects or ideas but not others) must surmount the demanding strict scrutiny test, while content-neutral laws (ones applying evenhandedly to all subjects) face the relaxed intermediate scrutiny standard. Sometimes, however, the…