It’s Time to Bring Back the Government’s Expert Tech Policy Unit
A renewed Office of Technology Assessment could help defuse the techlash, but it must engage its diverse public and resist being hijacked by corporate tech interests
The U.S. technology sector grew unimpeded for decades, and with the unwavering support of the public and policymakers. Yet as Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook continued to grow in power, we slowly realized they were beginning to act like digital landlords, trying to run our cities and spreading ubiquitous surveillance.
So it was only a matter of time until people collectively had enough. The resulting techlash has brought skepticism and scrutiny of Silicon Valley to the mainstream, and some of the criticisms directed at tech companies for many years are finally starting to stick.
Given all these concerns about complex issues of power, misinformation, privacy, and surveillance, it seems remarkable that there is no agency within government that can support research and policy advice on all these technology issues and their social consequences. Such an agency would have capacities and authority that most people don’t have. It could translate public skepticism and expert assessment into policy outcomes. And it…
