Information Needs in a Democracy: Request for Comment
While official secrecy is a serious impediment to democratic vitality, the continuing decline of news gathering, reporting and editorial capacity could be a potential catastrophe. It is still unclear whether new and nascent forms of information sharing can provide a satisfactory substitute.
The Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy is soliciting public input on a series of questions about information access and use, revolving around the most basic question: “Do you have the information you need to accomplish your personal goals and to be an effective citizen?” To participate in the survey, go here.
The human cost is measured in deaths. The financial cost is measured in the $52 billion taxpayers pay annually end stage renal disease – double NASA’s budget.
Gilman Louie, Longest Serving Board Chair of the Federation of American Scientists, Named Chair Emeritus
The proposed Office will resurrect the long-closed Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), the archive of which has been maintained by FAS for decades at https://ota.fas.org/.
If Congress needs help understanding the risks and rewards of a piece of technology, they shouldn’t have to rely solely on the sparknotes from a salesman. The rub is much simpler: Congress needs nerds.