Addressing Challenges at the Intersection of Civil Rights and Technology
Summary
Modern civil rights challenges are technically complex. Today, decisions made by algorithms, rather than people, limit opportunities for historically disadvantaged groups in critical areas like housing, employment, and credit. The next administration should establish a broad, new task force, led by the U.S. Chief Technology Officer (CTO), to address issues at the intersection of civil rights and emerging technologies. The task force should encourage federal agencies to prioritize regulatory and enforcement activities where tech and civil rights overlap, and to increase temporary exchanges of staff between agencies to facilitate cross-pollination of civil rights and tech expertise. The Administration should also prioritize appointment of key agency personnel who are committed to addressing tech/civil rights challenges.
Good information sources, like collections, must be available and maintained if companies are going to successfully implement the vision of AI for science expressed by their marketing and executives.
Nestled in the cuts and investments of interest to the S&T community is a more complex story of how the administration is approaching the practice of science diplomacy.
By structuring licensing-and-talent deals that replicate mergers while avoiding antitrust scrutiny, dominant technology firms are reshaping AI labor markets, venture financing, and the future of U.S. innovation.
It is in the interests of the United States to appropriately protect information that needs to be protected while maintaining our participation in new discoveries to maintain our competitive advantage.