Innovation Shouldn’t Be a Liability in the United States
Op-Ed
RealClearMarkets

Innovation Shouldn’t Be a Liability in the United States

America’s antitrust enforcers say they want to protect innovation. But their current cases against Big Tech are only punishing it. The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC)…

Reclaimed Words and a Meta Oversight Board Decision Reveal Problems with Policing Online Hate Speech
Article
AEIdeas

Reclaimed Words and a Meta Oversight Board Decision Reveal Problems with Policing Online Hate Speech

To appreciate the complexities of policing online hate speech that underlie an April summary decision by Meta’s Oversight Board, let’s start with a musical detour through a 2017 US Supreme…

The Intelligence of Things Is Here—Reflections from Google I/O 2025
Article
AEIdeas

The Intelligence of Things Is Here—Reflections from Google I/O 2025

Recently, I had the privilege of attending Google’s I/O developer conference with colleagues Will Rinehart and Shane Tews. The event featured (literally) 100 AI announcements and live demonstrations, including Waymo…

What Economists Are Learning About AI, Jobs, and Local Economies
Article
AEIdeas

What Economists Are Learning About AI, Jobs, and Local Economies

Conventional wisdom about artificial intelligence runs in two directions—utopian and dystopian. On one hand, we’re told that AI will usher in explosive productivity, endless efficiency, and new industries we can’t…

A Tale of Two Satellite Broadband Policies: The US and South Africa
Article
AEIdeas

A Tale of Two Satellite Broadband Policies: The US and South Africa

On Tuesday, technology writer Patience Haggin claimed that in the US, “rural internet is still so bad, some states are turning to outer space.” The article referred to the growing…

Beyond infrastructure: Internet ecosystem resilience and the public good
Report
Telecommunications Policy

Beyond infrastructure: Internet ecosystem resilience and the public good

Abstract Telecommunications networks have become one of modern society’s critical infrastructures (CIs): things required for everyday life and without which widespread disruption can be expected. Historically, the responsibility for ensuring…

Keeping Terrorists Off Airbnb Shouldn’t Undermine Americans’ Privacy
Op-Ed
The Hill

Keeping Terrorists Off Airbnb Shouldn’t Undermine Americans’ Privacy

here’s a certain irony in completing the financial surveillance procedures the government requires Airbnb to impose on its hosts. Right along with snapping and submitting a selfie for automatic verification…

How Meta Thinks About Personalization and Privacy
Article
AEIdeas

How Meta Thinks About Personalization and Privacy

Personalization, which tailors content based on user preference, has become widely used on virtually every social media platform. By providing users with relevant content that appeals to their unique interests,…

Generative AI and Fabricated Judicial Opinions: A Slow Learning Curve for Some Attorneys
Article
AEIdeas

Generative AI and Fabricated Judicial Opinions: A Slow Learning Curve for Some Attorneys

On the final day of my civil procedure course, Professor Brian Landsberg offered a piece of advice. At first blush, it seemingly had nothing to do with the myriad federal…

No More Tappers: Get Skin in the Game
Article
AEIdeas

No More Tappers: Get Skin in the Game

Irony of ironies: Outrage around Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s book, Original Sin, is helping to sell more copies. The failure of a CNN anchor and an Axios reporter to…

Regulating Complex and Uncertain AI Technologies
Article
AEIdeas

Regulating Complex and Uncertain AI Technologies

A common cognitive bias, in which decision-makers unconsciously substitute a complex problem with a simpler, related one, was first described in 2002 by Daniel Kahneman and Shane Frederick. The concept…

The House Should Act Quickly to Repeal the Illegal, Expensive E-Rate Expansion
Article
AEIdeas

The House Should Act Quickly to Repeal the Illegal, Expensive E-Rate Expansion

Earlier this month, the Senate passed S.J.Res.7. The resolution, sponsored by Senator Ted Cruz, would repeal a Biden-era Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule allowing E-Rate funds to subsidize Wi-Fi hotspot…

The Evidence So Far: What Research Reveals About AI’s Real Impact on Jobs and Society
Article
AEIdeas

The Evidence So Far: What Research Reveals About AI’s Real Impact on Jobs and Society

As organizations race to integrate new AI models into their workflows, everyone is wondering what the effects will be on industries, jobs, and society: Will these new technologies complement human…

First Amendment Fundamentals for Lawmakers as Courts Block Efforts to Protect Minors on Social Media
Article
AEIdeas

First Amendment Fundamentals for Lawmakers as Courts Block Efforts to Protect Minors on Social Media

Lawmakers considering bills to safeguard minors from ostensible harms linked to social media platforms should carefully review two recent federal court opinions declaring unconstitutional state laws imposing parental-consent, age-verification mandates.…

How Much Paperwork, How Little Privacy for the Innocent?
Article
AEIdeas

How Much Paperwork, How Little Privacy for the Innocent?

Justice Kavanaugh asked some important practical questions during oral argument in the birthright citizenship case in the Supreme Court last week. The executive order in dispute purports to deny citizenship…