Kate Beinkampen

Recently, the contrasting perspectives of two very different Democratic leaders have come sharply into focus as they presented forthright accounts of their ideologies. On the one hand, Democratic Representative Suzan DelBene (D-WA) stoutly defended the benefits of US leadership in the global economy, including market-opening trade agreements and support for US technology companies. On the other hand, US Representative Katherine Tai, as she has done throughout her trade tenure, warned of the dangers inherent in traditional US trade liberalization politics that, in her view, have fostered inequality, social injustice, and domestic monopoly.

Systems of categorization and classification have played important roles throughout history, from ancient religious texts organizing moral codes to modern scientific frameworks. Among these is the modern digital data system, which encompasses information from personal details and online interactions to scientific measurements and business transactions. However, concerns have been raised about what information is being tracked, the purposes behind such tracking, and who ultimately controls and has access to this data.

Whether it’s a state’s sovereign interest or an individual’s unenumerated First Amendment right, the right to listen was closely cabined in Murthy v. Missouri. That will hinder states in future online, free-speech litigation against the federal government.

US government officials, some academics, and others have accepted and repeated a false narrative that merger oversight has grown weak since the 1980s, resulting in increased industry concentration and market power.

FacebookTwitterLinkedInIn her unceasing campaign to forestall new international rules for digital trade, US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai has seized upon a new rationale: the need to forge a new regime for artificial intelligence policy. In a webinar hosted by the left-leaning Center for Economic Policy Research, she amplified her animus against Big Tech, arguing that AI systems

FacebookTwitterLinkedIn“We’re a court. We really don’t know about these things. You know, these are not like the nine greatest experts on the internet,” quipped Justice Elena Kagan in February 2023 during arguments in Gonzalez v. Google. Her crack elicited “laughter” from the audience as the attorneys argued about whether a federal statute barred an effort to hold Google liable for aiding and abetting a death during a terrorist attack via recommendations on its YouTube platform.

FacebookTwitterLinkedInBy early 2024, NASA had made significant progress on its ambitious lunar exploration project, the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER). NASA unveiled VIPER in 2019 as a solution to a costly space exploration challenge: the expense of launching heavy materials, particularly water, into space. On July 17th, following a comprehensive internal review, NASA abruptly announced the project’s cancellation.

FacebookTwitterLinkedInAs artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly advances, an emerging critical challenge threatens to weaken the foundations of societal institutes: How can we maintain trust and accountability online when AI systems become indistinguishable from real people? A new proposal for “personhood credentials” aims to address this challenge while preserving privacy and civil liberties.

FacebookTwitterLinkedInRecently, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo proudly announced that the US had achieved a “milestone” in its drive to achieve secure advanced semiconductor plants within its borders. Specifically, the Commerce Department has now received commitments

Shane Tews and Mark Johnson explore the AI developments to expect in the coming years, and highlight the critical roles of data, user interface, and hardware advancements in shaping the next wave of technological progress.