January 9, 2025
Meta’s Content Moderation Turnabout
Today, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, announced that it would immediately stop using “fact checkers” to police the content on its platforms, which also include Instagram and Threads. Meta explained: “In recent years we’ve developed increasingly complex systems to manage content across our platforms, partly in response to societal and political pressure to moderate content….
January 8, 2025
The Interests of the U.S. and the Honolulu Climate Case Before the U.S. Supreme Court
The Office of the Solicitor General — part of the Department of Justice —was created by the Statutory Authorization Act of June 22, 1870. The Act states that there shall be an officer “learned in the law,” to be called the Solicitor General, to assist the Attorney General in the performance of his or her duties. The…
January 6, 2025
The Digital Markets Act: Security and Innovation Challenges in Tech Regulation
The European Commission’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) aims to foster competition in digital markets through mandated interoperability between platforms and devices. A current consultation specifically addresses Apple iOS’s integration with connected devices like smartwatches and headphones, highlighting the broader implications of this regulatory framework. The DMA has significant security implications. The regulation could compromise existing…
January 3, 2025
AI Will Have a Major Impact on Labor Markets. Here’s How the US Can Prepare.
The nation can do better at forecasting AI-driven job and skill changes, including with a data-focused nonprofit that examines the technology’s impact. Markets are the killer app for efficiently organizing unfathomably complex human activities to deliver innovation and prosperity. They can also shift suddenly, creating winners and losers, even as broad measures of economic health…
December 30, 2024
The FDA’s Risky Action on Compounding Weight Loss Drugs
When Makena, a drug designed to prevent preterm births, hit the market in 2011 at $1,500 per dose, it drew rife backlash. The drug was based on an active ingredient that had been available for many years at a much lower cost. Confronted with the public outcry, the FDA took an unusual step: It allowed…
December 30, 2024
2024 Tech Year in Review
As 2024 comes to a close, we’re taking the time to look back and analyze some of the biggest developments in tech policy. The following represents the technology and innovation team’s year in review. The remarkable advancement of AI over the past year has catalyzed unprecedented innovation and strategic planning that will change the skills…
December 24, 2024
Protecting Youth Online: A Guide to Parental Controls and Safety Tools
The digital age has brought unprecedented opportunities for learning and connection, but it also presents new challenges for parents and guardians. Social media platforms and operating systems offer a range of tools and resources to help protect young people online, but navigating these options can be overwhelming. This comprehensive guide provides step-by-step instructions on using…
December 23, 2024
Fixing Universities
In my courses on policy analysis I teach my students to focus on problem definition before even thinking about policy options. The problem facing major American research universities, as characterized in this series, is that large segments of the public has lost confidence in them, at least in part because faculty are overwhelmingly on the…
December 23, 2024
AI Tutors: Hype or Hope for Education?
his thought-provoking book, Brave New Words, Sal Khan discusses his early experimentation with generative AI, or GenAI, models and how, over time, they might change education. If AI is a new frontier, Brave New Words reads much like the field notes of an explorer documenting his experiences and trying to make sense of what they mean for teaching…
December 23, 2024
Big Tech’s Data Centers Won’t Get Far Unless the Power Grid Is Regulated Less
The United States holds a commanding lead in data-center capacity, hosting 37% of the world’s facilities, and being home to the largest data center providers — Amazon.com, Microsoft, and Alphabet. These data centers are more than just infrastructure; they are the backbone of artificial intelligence (AI), driving innovations from personalized healthcare to automated supply chains. They are…