April 15, 2025
Censorship is Anti-American
On March 25, Rumeysa Ozturk, a graduate student at Tufts University — “a Fulbright scholar working on a PhD in child study and human development on an F-1 student visa” — was detained by six plain clothes government officials as she walked down a Boston street. Yesterday, The Washington Post reported that a State Department memo, prepared…
April 15, 2025
The AI Race Accelerates: Key Insights from the 2025 AI Index Report
The 2025 AI Index Report, recently released by Stanford’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), offers an insightful overview of the current state and trajectory of artificial intelligence (AI). While the comprehensive report spans an extensive 456 pages, here are the top six observations that stood out: 1. AI Nears Human-Level Performance AI research accelerated dramatically in…
April 15, 2025
Irony, Congress, and the FCC: The Broadcast Freedom and Independence Act of 2025
In a sure sign of our topsy-turvy political times, Democrats in the US Senate and House of Representatives are sponsoring legislation that seeks both to rein in the reach of federal regulatory authority and to promote the fundamental First Amendment value that expression of all viewpoints should be allowed rather than squelched and punished by…
April 11, 2025
“Misinformation” Is Condescending: Do Better, Elites
The concept of “misinformation” is deeply condescending. As commonly used in our discourse, it says the following to and about the public: “You’re getting the wrong information, and it’s causing some bad behaviors. We’re going to get you better information, pat you on the head, and tuck you in.” It’s not nice to talk to…
April 10, 2025
The Apocalypse Machine Rolls On
Climate scenarios are fundamental to climate research and policy. For more than a decade, one scenario dominated research informing discussions of climate among scientists and decision makers. Called RCP8.5, today that scenario is widely recognized as implausible, leading to apocalyptic portrayals of future climate change and providing an unreliable basis for policy analyses for adaptation and…
April 10, 2025
Satellite Broadband Competition—New Hope, but for Which Markets?
Last week, Amazon subsidiary Project Kuiper announced plans to launch the first 27 satellites in its 3,000-plus planned low earth orbit (LEO) constellation from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on April 9. The launch brings long-promised competition in the satellite broadband space for Elon Musk’s 5,000-plus-satellite Starlink system, which, up to now, has…
April 9, 2025
California Finally Abandons Facets of Flawed Social-Media Mandate
Department of Government Efficiency, but the world’s richest person recently scored an important––albeit largely overlooked––First Amendment victory for social media platforms against intrusive, peek-under-the-hood government regulations. In late February, a final judgment and permanent injunction barring enforcement of key parts of California Assembly Bill 587 (AB 587) was agreed to by the parties in X…
April 8, 2025
My Response to the House Commerce Committee Privacy Working Group
In February 2025, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce announced the creation of a privacy working group to address many of the now-familiar challenges created by our advanced digital economy. Shortly thereafter, the Committee released a Request for Information, inviting expert recommendations for the newly-formed group. I have given some thought to some of…
April 7, 2025
Behind the Curtain
Last month, climate scientist Kate Marvel, of NASA, shared “something I have really struggled with” about extreme event attribution. She was speaking as an invited expert in a public information-gathering session of the U.S. National Academy committee1 on extreme event attribution. Marvel, who also served at the lead author on the chapter on “Climate Trends” in the 2023 U.S. National…
April 7, 2025
The Spectrum Exchange: Networks, Security, and Innovation
Spectrum management is crucial to our digital future as it provides the invisible regulatory framework enabling efficient and equitable allocation of finite radio frequency resources. Without comprehensive, forward-thinking spectrum policies, our rapidly evolving technological landscape will face stifled innovation and restricted growth. Ensuring responsible spectrum issues involves balancing regulatory frameworks that encourage innovation while ensuring…