“Over time, the Supreme Court has become more diverse in some ways and more homogeneous in others,” a recent Congressional Research Service report (pdf) observed.
“When first constituted, and throughout most of its history, no women or minorities served on the Court… The religious affiliations of the Court’s members also have changed over time. For almost the first 50 years of the Court, all Justices were affiliated with protestant Christian churches. [Today], six of the nine current Justices identify as Roman Catholic…. Over time, Justices’ legal educations have become more homogeneous…. In the last 20 years, especially, three Ivy League law schools–Harvard, Yale, and Columbia–have been disproportionately represented on the Court.”
“To date, every Supreme Court Justice has been a lawyer. There is, however, no constitutional requirement regarding the educational background of a Justice or the necessity of a law degree.” See “Supreme Court Justices: Demographic Characteristics, Professional Experience, and Legal Education, 1789-2009,” September 9, 2009.
Other noteworthy new CRS reports that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf).
“Presidential Terms and Tenure: Perspectives and Proposals for Change,” October 19, 2009.
“The Debate Over Selected Presidential Assistants and Advisors: Appointment, Accountability, and Congressional Oversight,” October 9, 2009.
“Poverty in the United States: 2008,” October 6, 2009.
“Public Safety Communications and Spectrum Resources: Policy Issues for Congress,” October 14, 2009.
“Managing Electronic Waste: Issues with Exporting E-Waste,” October 7, 2009.
“Iraq: Regional Perspectives and U.S. Policy,” October 6, 2009.
If AI systems are not always reliable and secure, this could inhibit their adoption, especially in high-stakes scenarios, potentially compromising American AI leadership.
To secure global adoption of U.S. AI technology and ensure America’s workforce can fully leverage advanced AI, the federal government should take a strategic and coordinated approach to support AI assurance and security R&D.
To fight the climate crises, we must do more than connect power plants to the grid: we need new policy frameworks and expanded coalitions to facilitate the rapid transformation of the electricity system.
Without information, without factual information, you can’t act. You can’t relate to the world you live in. And so it’s super important for us to be able to monitor what’s happening around the world, analyze the material, and translate it into something that different audiences can understand.